Jade's secrets
by ScottyBgood
Summary: Jade is a girl with secrets. For someone so honest and direct, she keeps her secrets to herself, some even from her boyfriend. But what happens when her secrets start to get out? How will the school react? And how will she? Read and find out what secrets, or end it as she knows it. No supernatural stuff. I don't own Victorious or it's characters, I make no money. Don't sue. Jori
1. Chapter 1

New Story, or rather one I worked on last year and dropped, but was too attached to to just let it go. I have a few chapters written, and hope this encourages me to write more.

Disclaimer, the usual about me not owning the victorious characters.

:}

It was another Thursday, and the gang was sitting in their usual spot for lunch, but no one was talking. Once again, Jade and Beck were fighting, and everyone wanted to stay out of the crossfire. Maybe Back and Jade were keeping it down, for their own reasons, but the whole thing was building, waiting to explode again. They'd fought before, But this time it was different. They weren't bickering on and off, like they've done in the past. Rather, it was one ongoing, continuous fight with long stretched of tension filled silence between the brief flareups of the arguments. Neither combatant asked for anything more than an occasional opinion, but that was more then enough to drag everyone else into the fighting. Now, people were trying not to get dragged into taking sides.

"So, Jade, You never told me, how's the new place?" Robbie asked, trying to make conversation. He immediately placed his hand over his mouth as soon as he'd asked, but it was too late, the question hung there like a cancer growing before their eyes.

The fighting had started over two months ago, with what was at the time good news. "I'm moving into a new house. It's big, huge even. It's got two master suits, lots of other amenities, and the best part is, I'll be living with my dad." Jade had told her friends. Actually, she'd told everyone. She'd posted that exact statement on The Slap, plus announced it in more than one of her classes. Tori in particular was happy to see the moody girl so excited about something good happening in her life. Only Beck had tried to keep her grounded, telling her that living with her father was still going to be the same as living with her mother. Just other peoples rules to follow.

"I don't want to talk about it." Jade snapped back, glaring at the nerdy boy. After the move, she was suddenly silent about her new home. Jade told her friends that Beck was right about one thing, there were rules. She wasn't allowed to have friends over, or even show them where she lived. Strangely that's what started the fights with Beck. No one but those two knew the details, but it led to a lot of tension. They were still dating, but Jade was more reactionary than she'd been in a long time, while Beck was almost gloating.

"Come on, Jade, give the guy a break. You told everyone how big and beautiful this house was going to be. The least you could do is show us a picture. Oh, that's right, your daddy won't let you." Beck taunted.

The Canadian had acquired a certain smirk that appeared when he talked to Jade, and often alluded to things not spoken about. That would add to the tension, until Jade snapped back, and the argument ensued. They often fought over how Beck didn't trust Jade, how unstable she was becoming, and how he couldn't trust her if she couldn't trust him. They would fight over other things as well, but those were the main points. It was obvious that her living arrangements were at the core of the fight, and on days like this, it came spilling out into the open. Things were getting ugly.

"Guys, please, I'm sorry I brought it up. Can we go back to the uncomfortable silence?" Robbie asked, sounding almost desperate.

At the same time, Robbie had developed his own problems, or rather his problems got worse. Ashamed of his family, he usually met people at their homes. This wasn't new, he hadn't had anyone over in over six months, and even then it was Beck giving him a ride home. Robbie usually kept as much of his family away from his friends as he could. Despite that distance, they all knew about his issues with his family. They knew he had a sister who collected rare butterflies, had once nearly dropped his cousin into the Tiger habitat at the zoo, that his mother had more than once threatened to leave him, and that his father was embarrassed by his actions, and possible his entire lifestyle. Robbie didn't have people over, but despite whatever he may claim, everyone knew it was because no one wanted to go to his place. The Shapiro's seemed to be a majorly dysfunctional family, with lots of issues. Just recently, it seemed to be getting worse.

"So Rex, anything new with you?" Robbie asked his puppet after a couple of minutes of no one talking. Despite asking for it, he didn't like the silence. He once told Cat it reminded him too much of home.

Rex had been unusually quiet. Normally the puppet could be counted on to use whatever new and embarrassing things happened in Robbie's life to humiliate the nerdy boy. Recently, it seemed that the puppet had chosen to pick his battles. Since there wasn't anything Robbie could threaten the puppet with to make it stop harassing him and his friends, everyone assumed his family was into something so freaky, so vile, that the puppet was suffering bouts of amnesia as a defense mechanism, blocking things out to keep sane. Tori in particular was worried when that excuse made a lot of sense. She didn't like buying into the crazy that much.

"Nope. My Nothridge girls seem to want to give me some space. You're a tang repellent, Robbie." The puppet said, glancing at Beck and Jade for just a second. Cat humphed quietly at Rex.

Cat had an easy out from the fighting. As things were escalating, she was spending more time with her roommate and their new business, babysitting. That meant that Cat wasn't available after school nearly as much, so missed a lot of the fights. She had been slowly growing away from the group, but missed hanging out. Jade and Beck responded to her distancing with a sort of truce. They would try and keep things civil during school hours. That way, Cat could feel comfortable at school, the only time she was able to spend with her friends. It worked, to a point. The power couple still fought, but the silence held a lot better than expected. The stress brought on by the silence, however, was getting everyone on edge.

"You got something to say, Red?" The puppet said, then immediately "Sorry Cat, I forgot you're going through stuff right now."

Cat was also quietly holding a semi-tourch for Robbie. It wasn't like she wanted to date him, but she didn't want him to date anyone else until she figure out just what was going on in her heart. Cat had become possessive of the nerdy boy, not happy when he talked to any pretty girls. She was trying to balance that with her desire to have a big, gorgeous man of her own. It made her just a little crazier than normal, and for reasons no one could fathom, Rex respected that.

"It's Okay, little red. Rex is just having trouble now, since he knows Jade is looking for an excuse to rip him apart." Andre said, sounding like he was joking. No one laughed.

Andre also had an out, but not as big of one. His after school job was taking up a fair amount of his time. Unlike Cat, he was working under the limits of a work permit, so there was a lot of time where he wasn't on the job, time for him to be a kid and hang out with his friends. Andre's boss was a less than talented business man who's yogurt shop always lost money. Other business interests, mostly run by the mans wife, kept the shop going, as well as kept the boss in money. Andre didn't mind. The shop could do decent business, but offered only a handful of choices any sane person would want to try. One promotion after another sucked the cash out of the shop, while Andre just kept quiet. His boss didn't like being told he was a dufus, and the musician liked getting his paychecks.

The silence was broken again, this time by Trina running up to the table saying "Oh my god, Tori you have to see this. I found a rare first edition of 'The Lost Seconds' on line. This is so exciting. If it's signed, I have to buy it." This was a level of excitement Trina usually reserved for boys she wanted to stalk, when she got a roll in anything, or any time she got to be the center of attention. Tori just smiled and shrugged it off.

Then there was Tori's personal life, starting with her sister. You see, Trina was in love. Well, not in love so much as totally into this new author, Amanda Rothschild. Trina absolutely loved her work. Of the authors six books, two from the current series, Trina had read them all twice. Even the first three Amanda had written, while under contract with Lonely girl publishing, Trina adored. Trina had joined a book club just to discuss these books, and found her way to other fangirls. Unfortunately, one of those fangirls turned out to be Holly Vega, the matriarch of the Vega clan. You could imagine how this affected Tori.

"Trina, please, how rare can the book be. Miss Rothschild's only been writing for about two and a half years." Tori said, feeling embarrassed by Trina's excitement.

Despite her reaction, Tori understood the attraction. Amanda Rothschild's writing style was often grim, but with a deep under layer of hope. No matter how bad the situation got, her characters held onto their basic humanity and their love for one another. It was the kind of romantic drivel Tori loved to torment Jade with. That included acting out a few pages in Sikowitz's class. Beck eagerly volunteered to play the male part, and Jade was forced to listen as they performed the scene with all the romance they'd be allowed at school. That was just days before Miss Rothschild's management announced that her series had been optioned, and was going to be made into movies, with some big stars competing to play the lead rolls. Tori could see why the stories were best sellers, and how Lonely Girls fucked up when they didn't offer her a huge amount of money (beyond the practically nothing they offer all their writers) to stay and keep writing for them. "The Lost Seconds" was her first self published book. Miss Rothschild self published, and was probably rich.

"I think it's great that so many people love her work. We should rally look into doing one of her books as a play." Beck said, probably to annoy Jade. His eyes were on the goth the whole time he said it.

Then there was the "Layers of Shadow" series. Somewhere between the romance and supernatural fiction with an emphasis on old school horror, this series was the hottest thing in two genre's to come along since 'Interview with the Vampire'. Fans flocked to the bookstores to get the latest release, while reading some of her earlier works to understand her style. The supernatural member of the pair, a sorcerer turned into a vampire, was fighting deeper, darker creatures of the night as well as his own kind to protect the world and the girl he loved. That girl started, as girls do in this kind of chiz, innocent and pure. In the second book, to survive, she becomes a witch. It changed the dynamics of the pair while giving the girl the power to help her lover stand against the growing legions of the night. People were eagerly awaiting the release of the third book in the series, "Illuminations," Even though the second book was released less than four months ago.

"Trina, I think we shouldn't talk about this here. Lets just keep everything peaceful for the few minutes left at lunch." Tori said, looking around the table. Mostly, she was glancing at Beck and Jade.

Of course Tori had read the books. She'd secretly read every one of Trina's copies before getting the digital versions for herself. Honestly, Tori didn't know anyone, except Jade, who hadn't. Even Cat had read the more romantic books, and seemed familiar with the whole "Layers of Shadow" series. So Tori had read the books, mostly to get her dose of romance when her life seemed to be lacking, but she did like them.

Only thing was, she was far more interested in the relationship between Beck and Jade then the romance of two supernatural beings or some whinny lovestruck heroine's need to prove herself worthy of her lover. Their story had more of a personal feeling to it. Tori was watching, waiting for something, but unsure what. She knew the relationship was dying, and that idea scared her. Beck and Jade had broken up before, even stayed single for months, but during that time, Tori was sure that the two would get back together. Now she wasn't so sure. To her eyes, they were ending, and she didn't know where that left her. Tori wanted Beck, just not Beck. She couldn't put her finger on what that meant, but it's what kept her up at nights.

"Dude!" Jade said. "Don't taunt Tori." She was talking to Beck, making it clear she wasn't happy about anyone making a play out of that girls work, or perhaps just reminding Tori just who didn't have a date for the weekend. Jade managed to smirk at her redirect, but only for a second. It was a subtle jab at Tori, but it seemed to give her some joy.

Once again, it seemed, Tori was single and not dating. She meet some nice boy, and inevitably something would go wrong, or be wrong, and she'd break up with them. The only exceptions were the guys who seemed too perfect to be true, because the weren't. These were the guys who knew how to approach a girl, how to talk to her, flattering her while seeming a bit humble. As the girl fell for them, the manipulations began. Loyal friend like Beck and Jade tried to keep her from falling into the traps these guys laid, but that seemed to be the kind of guy Tori trusted. Other then the bad ones, she only trusted a few of the good guys, guys like Andre. She'd date Andre, but along with her trust came an almost familial relationship. He was like a brother to her. So she didn't have any prospects at that moment, and felt safer waiting for whatever was happening to blow over before seeking companionship. She did have Miss Rothschild's early works to keep her warm.

"But we all need a little romance in our lives." Trina whined.

Problem was, Tori had figured out that life wasn't like the cheesy romance novels. The hero didn't know he was in love by a deep feeling that was understood from years of soul searching. The damsel, unaware the perfect man was just around the corner, didn't manage to stay strong and wait it out. People had no clue about what others wanted until the others told them, or hinted in a way that would be understood. Tori was focused on her work, because that she understood. Jade and Beck were her forever couple. As their relationship died, so did her hope for a fairytale ending.

"You guys give me a rash." Jade's words were hardly original, but was still a decent line to walk out on. Tori watched her go, feeling deep inside that somehow, when the dust cleared, they wouldn't be friends.

Later that day, in Sikowitz's class, things were not progressing, and they couldn't hide their problems behind the class projects. Part of the reason was their teacher was out. He never called in sick unless he was so out of it he couldn't get out of bed. Last winter, the crazy coconut lover had infected half the school because apparently the flue wasn't reason enough to miss a day of educating his students.

But today he was out, for the one reason he'd excuse any absence. He had a part in a Movie. It was a small part, playing a drama teacher in a performing arts high school, as well as the female leads ex. Tori remembered Sikowitz, while preparing for the part, telling the class how he was having trouble relating to the character. More than once he'd say something like "I understand the whole ex boyfriend part, but the drama teacher thing? How would I act? How would I inspire my students? I'm just not finding this guy." The project, however, was just too good for him to pass up. While just a made for TV movie that would play on the romance channel, it was also a speaking roll, and he would be gone a total of two weeks for filming. With the crazy teacher gone, the poor substitute was trying to fill his shoes, but had no idea what was going on. Despite over a months advanced warning, Sikowitz had failed to leave lesson plans. Probably because he didn't have any. "Besides," Jade had quipped, "how do you fill the shoes of a guy who doesn't wear any?"

So the class was a mix of whatever acting exercises Helen would offer, and sitting around talking until it was time to go home. Today was talking.

"Can someone give me a ride?" Robbie asked, out of the blue.

"Dude, why?" Beck answered. Lately Sinjin had replaced Robbie as Becks main nerdy friend. Robbie and Beck were still friends, but Beck had a lot more in common with the lanky boy then he did with Robbie, so often the puppeteer would have to seek someone else to help him out. It further infuriated Jade, not just Becks hanging out with Sinjin, but that the handsome boy had allowed himself room for only one nerd as a close friend. Jade could almost forgive hanging out with Sinjin, but the lanky boy stared at things she didn't want to share. Also, she didn't seem to like the way he just 'dropped' Robbie as if the puppeteer wasn't good enough any more.

"Sorry, can't." Andre said. "I got work today."

"Trina's driving me." Tori said.

"I don't have room on my bike. Maybe Jade can give you a lift." Cat said. The ditzy girl's tone showed an unhealthy hope that Jade would break her 'Don't care' policy to give the boy a ride.

"Yea, Jade, maybe you could give Robbie a lift. I'll bet he would even pay for gas." Beck shot out, Sounding both tired and annoyed. Jade gave her boyfriend a death glare.

"Okay, I'll drive you. But if your bike scratches my car, you'll be paying for every repair it needs for the next year." Jade said. To Tori, it almost felt like she gave in too easily.

"No worries about that. I left me bike at home. My mother dropped me off. Unfortunately, she has to pick up my sister, but I told her I'd just get a ride from one of my friends." Robbie said. Rex would let that setup slide.

"You should walk home." Jade replied, voice flat. "You should never have assumed you'd be getting a ride." Somehow his assumption has further wazzed Jade off.

"Jade, you offered a ride, so drive the poor boy home." Beck said. His voice carried a load of frustration, and somehow that seemed to make Jade flinch, just barely.

Tori looked at her friends. This conversation was far too hostile for her tastes, and once again Jade was playing the part of the bad guy. The whole thing felt like the end of an era. Jade was taking everything as an attack. 'Why is she so reactionary?' Tori thought.

The confusion was heightened by the fact that Tori's main social group was caught in the middle of whatever was going on. They all could feel the tension, but no one bothered to try and figure out what was going on. Tori knew how private Jade could be, and Beck was more than willing to abandon his 'No secrets' image to keep whatever was going on strictly between him and Jade. Tori could understand, except the gang was being dragged in and suffering, becoming collateral damage to their fights. She needed another opinion, but it would take far to long to explain things to her remaining friends at Sherwood.

Tori wanted to talk to Trina, clear her head from all her worries. Unfortunately, all her sister was interested in was the hundred dollars it would take to get the rare, signed first printing of 'The Lost Seconds' she'd need to buy it from the collectables bookstore she'd found. Instead Tori started thinking about what she wanted to be doing over her weekend. 'One day of school left, then a whole weekend off.' She'd let her fears die with the morning. She'd see that everything was all right, and no one was leaving her little group of friends. That's how life was, almost nothing changes.

:}

I know, a lot of setup, and I'm sure you've already figured out all my twists. But I'll probably post more chapters later, as I feel like it. Or on Fridays, depending. Anyways, next chapter, something happens and we have a plot. See you then.


	2. Chapter 2 Boom

Disclaimer: You've already read it, but still, I make no money of this.

So, chapter two, and we start to get some plot.

:}

The next day, as Tori was getting ready for school, her phone beeped. It was the slap alert, letting her know that one of the people she followed had updated their slap page. She checked, and had posted another picture to his page. Thinking it could be funny, Tori opened it to look. Once again Robbie had chosen to take a selfy of himself in a shirt that looked wrong on him. It was too tight, like when he wore his sisters shirt. However, that shirt was bright and colorful. This shirt was white with black and red Gothic designs showing several anthropomorphic rabbit like objects ready to end their lives in some mass exiguous from this world. It was a band shirt for some off style rock band and Tori knew she'd seen that shirt before. 'I just don't remember where.' Still, it looked ridicules on Robbie, like he was trying to be a rocker. He even had his hands up in that rocker style. Tori decided to leave a comment about how Robbie didn't sell being a bad ass, and focused on getting ready.

By the time Trina had driven them to school, Tori had almost forgotten about the picture. Instead, she became more concerned with her friends apparent distress. The moment she walked into school and saw a couple of her friends, she knew something was wrong.

Towards the center of the entry hall Beck was pacing, agitation seeping from his pores. Next to him Andre was trying to calm him down. None of the others seemed to have arrived yet. Tori immediately focused on Beck, worried about his apparent ire. 'Beck doesn't get angry, let alone this worked up.' She didn't have time to think about where the others might be. Other students were arriving and for whatever reason were lounging in the hall. A quick glance around let tori know they were watching, waiting, keeping an eye on the door as if something big was about to walk through it. Tori noticed that, but focused on Beck, drifting towards where he and Andre were. She caught part of the conversation.

"Calm down. There has to be an explanation for why he's wearing Jade's shirt." Andre was saying. Beck kept pacing and glancing at the door.

"Hi guy's" Tori said, then she stopped and processed what she just heard. 'That's where I saw it before. Jade's likes that band. I think she's one of the few who does.' Tori thought. "What's happ... Why was Robbie in Jade's shirt?"

"I don't know. I don't know why he's in her shirt. A shirt she hasn't worn in the last ten days, and wouldn't share reguardless." Beck said. He looked ready for the next fight, and judging by his level of agitation, this could be the last one he and Jade would have as a couple.

"There has to be a good reason he's in that shirt." Andre said, still trying to play peacemaker.

"Let's look at the facts. It's a small, too small for him. So it's obviously a girls shirt. There aren't too many of that shirt floating about. Jade's friends with the drummer, so she got the shirt from them before they left on tour. It's one of the few ways to get that particular shirt design. So the odds of another shirt like that showing up in Hollywood are pretty slim. The question becomes, how did Robbie, of all people, wind up wearing Jade's shirt?" Beck said. He was clearly building up his anger, waiting for the explanation as to why Jade had let Robbie stretch out one of her favorite shirts.

Around that time Cat arrived earlier then usual, given the distance she has to bike to get to school. That morning, the petite girl looked a little down. She walked to Andre's locker and slumped down in front of it. Her bright clothing no longer reflected her mood, instead she looked like she'd been hurt, emotionally. She started staring at the door, watching for something as she crushed Mister Purple to her chest. She was holding back tears as she waited. It looked like her whole world revolved around whatever she was waiting for, and that seemed to be what the growing crowd was waiting for as well. Tori could only guess it had to do with Cats on again off again crush on Robbie.

Andre's calm exterior was cracking, showing how worried he'd been. It was only exasperated by Cat's arrival and mood. He was trying to stay reasonable, but seemed to know that, whatever happened next, could forever alter the dynamics of their little group of friends. His Eyes glancing to the door, Tori, Cat and Beck, Andre seemed to be focused on calming things down until Jade arrived.

It was a lost cause. Whatever Beck was feeling, it went deeper than just a shirt. Like Cat, he had emotional investment in someone involved in this situation, so the possibility of a rational discussion seemed almost nonexistent. All over a selfie and Jade's shirt.

Tori continued to watch the scene play out, partially because she had no idea what to do. She looked for her sister, and saw that Trina had joined the crowed. The older Vega girl was using the crowds to hide, probably from any misplaced anger that might leak out when the missing members of what Sinjin calls 'the main people' arrive. It also looked like the elder Vega was looking to enjoy a little reality. Even Tori had to admit, from the perspective of someone not involved, Jade's explanation, All the emotion, it was bound to be better than anything on TV.

For a few more minutes, the tension mounted as everyone was standing around, waiting, until finally the door opens and Robbie walked in. Immediately Beck makes a line for the puppeteer, followed by Andre, Tori and Cat. The nerdy boy didn't see them, busying himself with visiting his locker.

"What were you doing wearing Jade's shirt this morning?" Beck confronts Robbie. The Puppeteer turned to see what was wanted. Instantly Beck was in his face. Too close. He tried to step backwards, into his locker, just to give himself some space.

"It was my sisters shirt, I swear it!" Robbie shot back, near panicked.

"Your sister listens to 'Suicidal Bunnies?'" Beck asked, making it clear he probably wouldn't believe anything the other boy said.

"No, she just likes the shirt." Robbie stammered back.

"That was Jade's shirt. Now tell me why you were wearing Jade's shirt. No, scratch that, tell me how you were wearing Jade's shirt." Beck had cornered the smaller boy against his locker. Before Robbie could answer, a murmur ran through the growing crowd. Jade had entered the building.

The students parted, giving her a direct line to her locker. Jade ignored Beck almost throttling Robbie and focused on exchanging books for the morning. It looked like she was just going to disregard the whole thing. Of course, Beck wasn't going to let her. To make matters worse, gossip was already starting to flow in low whispers. Jade was wearing the shirt. That shirt!

"What do you have to say about this?" Beck said, his voice dripping venom.

"Don't get blood on my locker." Jade replied, turning to leave. The crowd closed in, blocking her path, a strangely brave thing for many of them. Jade didn't have time to give them more than a single glare before she was confronted again.

"Jadey, how could you?" Cat screamed, closing the distance between her and the taller girl. The redhead was vibrating. "You knew I kinda liked him, and you went and did, I don't know what you did, but you did it with him." Cat said, starting to cry. The smaller girl stood up to Jade despite the tears, and while neither moved for several seconds, it was clear that Jade had no desire to just push Cat out of her way.

"I didn't do anything with him. And who's him?" Jade said, feeling defensive. She seemed confused by the whole ordeal, and for now seemed willing to keep her temper in check and find out what the whole school was bugging about. "Did you take your special medication today?"

"Jade, please explain to these people that there is nothing between you and Robbie." Andre said, keeping his voice neutral.

"Wai...What?" Jade said, her voice turning dangerous, eyes burning through the musician.

"So you don't deny it?" Cat accused, and Jade's head shot back to stare at the smaller girl. Jade couldn't form a single word to describe what she was feeling. She didn't get the time.

Beck looked up from his phone, the object now in his hand, and addressed his girlfriend. "Please, Jade! We all know you dropped Robbie off this morning. And yesterday, after school, you took him home. Care to explain?" He said. Tori had no idea how he knew she'd dropped Robbie off this morning, but suspected it had something to do with his phone.

"You guys asked me to take him home. He still needed a ride, so I picked him up this morning. I Do one nice thing and what? Everyone's freaking? So what is everyone so janked up about?" Jade shot at Beck.

Beck pulled up the picture of Robbie in her shirt. "This. How is it he is wearing your shirt?" He showed her the picture for another second. "Jade, I know you've been lying about the new house. I know your mother doesn't make that much money, and your father doesn't give her much help. I mean, does he even care about you. Your family? I can even understand needing to make some money. I just didn't think you'd turn to.." He was having trouble finishing his statement.

"What? You think I slept with him? You think I'm a whore?!" Jade's voice was echoing down the halls, and she looked ready to hurt someone. Several onlookers in the crowd decided they didn't need to be in the front row.

"I don't know what to think. I just know you've been lying to us for the longest time. There's no shame in being here on scholarship, Jade. Tori's here on scholarship." Beck said.

"Hay!" Tori said, kinda offended. She didn't like her business being shared, but didn't have time to focus on that.

"But to sell yourself, just to have enough money to fit in. I don't care how much you think you needed the cash." Beck sounded disgusted with her.

"No shame, Tori" Andre started

"I never slept with him!" Jade screamed.

"I'm here on scholarship too." Andre finished, but no one seemed to hear him.

"It's my sisters shirt!" Robbie added, but again, no one seemed to believe him, or Jade. Things were tense, and if something didn't give soon, it could turn violent. That's when it happened, that's when the bell rang.

The bell rang, and the day started. The group broke up reluctantly, not wishing to get the vice principal on their cases again. Just because they were interrupted by the bell didn't mean it was over, not by a long shot. Jade and Beck text fought for the rest of the day, each writing stuff to hurt the other. Rumors starred running through the school, of how Jade's parents didn't have much money, and the gank queen of the school was living a lie trying to have the same stuff as her friends. Jade was outed as one of the poorest students at Hollywood Arts.

Lunch came, and it was time for the group to pick sides. Jade was on her way to their usual table when she was confronted by Cat.

"You knew I liked him! Why did you have to seduce him?" Cat screeched. She was Jade's best friend, and one of the few people who knew how little Jade had in the past. She also knew that Jade's father had taken an interest in her family again, just in the last two years, and that had helped the family immensely. First they moved into a better house, then the recent move. Jade got a car, a better phone, a computer, all the things that came with more income. Now Cat wondered what Jade had done to get these things. Cat didn't like to think Jade could be doing that kind of stuff, but 'maybe her father is her pimp.'

"I'm telling you, I didn't seduce him. I'd never fuck him." Jade said.

"Jade, I want to believe you, I really do, but you don't give me anything to hold onto. I know what I saw, and that was your shirt, the one you're wearing now. So why was he wearing it this morning?" Cat asked. The small girl's hands shook with frustration. Jade looked at her.

"I didn't let him try on my shirt. He says his sister has one just like it. I choose to believe him." Jade said, her voice neutral. Controlled. Cat could tell Jade was acting, using her skills to hide her emotions. The thing is, Jade probably wanted to sound calm, and this wasn't the time to be calm.

Cat almost swung on Jade, but held back. Her anger didn't quite override her sense of self preservation. Instead she went to their regular table and sat down. Beck and Andre were already there, and Tori was coming up with her sister. They took up their seats at the table, while their glares told Jade she wasn't welcome. Not in the mood to push things, Jade sat at another table. Robbie also sat alone, but out of necessity and a shortage of tables was near Jade. Neither wanted to start spreading rumors, but there were only so many places to sit down and have lunch. They couldn't sit far enough away from each other anyways, even if they were in different rooms.

Naturally, more rumors started. Students spent the second half of the day analyzing everything. How close or far the two sat, how often they looked at one another, and anything that might mean something. Rumors spread of an affair, or that Jade was a kept woman, trading sex with Robbie (Or his father, or both) for the money she used for her nicer things. Some people even accused her of "Doing the puppet."

By the end of the day, Jade was done. People could see how angry she was, how she barely controlled herself, and they knew her reputation. They assumed she was looking to take her frustration out on someone, and as a result anyone who might want to hear her side avoided her.

Beck meanwhile, was free with everything Jade had shared with him, stuff she'd only trusted a few people enough to tell her deepest secrets. He talked about how her mother never married, and West was her mothers maiden name. Jade was a bastard. Worse, her father was married to someone else, and could only occasionally help out. The rumors Beck was spreading, tinged with the truth, hurt Jade in ways she never wanted to feel. Deep cuts that would take a long time to heal.

It was obvious to Tori that Beck felt betrayed, and was returning the favor. She felt for him. What she didn't realize was, like so many hurt parties, he had no sense of proportion. He had no idea when he was even, when he'd gone past any resemblance of even, let alone when he inflicted the deepest wounds.

All the while Jade seemed to have nothing to say about it, and just let herself stew in her pain and resentment. For far too many students, this was just the sorted entertainment they had been looking for. Others might have felt sorry for her, but this was the fall of the ice queen, and they couldn't find it in themselves to feel for the girl who once terrified them.

The day ended with more rumors. Jade had promised Robbie a ride home, and when none of their friends was willing to offer him a ride, she reluctantly gave him one. Tori heard what people were saying as the goth led the nerdy boy to her car. Everyone assumed that Jade would at least blow Robbie before he went in that evening. Cat cried, but didn't do a thing to prevent Robbie from riding with Jade. It seemed easier to spread rumors than to try and change the situation.

Tori would, on and off, spend her weekend thinking about what had happened. Jade had fallen from her perch as queen of Hollywood Arts. She'd obviously slept with Robbie, probably for money, and who knows how many others she'd slept with in the past, just to earn some money. The only person Tori knew not jumping on the 'let's hate Jade' bandwagon was Trina.

"This doesn't sound right. I think we're missing something." Trina told Tori on their way home. "Jade would be nicer to Robbie if she was selling sex. That is, unless she's a dominatrix. I'll have to ask mom, I haven't read fifty shade's yet."

Tori rolled her eyes, and switched to more amusing topics. By evening they'd found a party to attend, and were on their way. Tori was careful not to get too drunk or hang out with strangers without someone she knew near by. Strangely it was Trina who'd taught her how to survive parties. The elder sister wasn't anxious to get pregnant and have her career derailed any more than Tori was. As much as she loved her friends, they didn't understand her situation. Jade had always been at parties with Beck, Cat only went with Jade near by, and the guys had no clue about being a girl at a party. Tori had wondered what they could have taught her if they could have gotten pregnant.

Tori stuck up a conversation with a couple of other students she knew from Hollywood Arts. They were part of what Jade called the 'really not that attractive' majority of the students that attended the performing arts school, but Tori felt someone should spend some time with them. It wouldn't do for them to feel any more worthless than they do now. It was also a good way to pass the time without making any commitments.

The party was going fine until Jade arrived. She wasn't there long before she got into a fight. She went at it with a group of Nothridge girls. It took the threat of police involvement, but they ejected Jade from the party after the fight. After Jade had left, the gossip around the party made it very clear that no one had wanted her there in the first place. As for the girls Jade had fought, Tori noticed were the same group she herself had fought in Becks car that one time when she was bumming rides from her friends. Jade, however, had done a far better job against them. One of the girls had to be helped home, and might need to go to the hospital. The fight, along with everything else that was happening, helped Tori make up her mind. She had to do something about Beck.

On the way home from the party, Tori spoke to Trina. "Treen, I need you to promise not to freak out if I start dating Beck."

"No can do, little sister. I'm not letting you date Beck until he's over the whole 'betrayed by Jade' thing." Trina said, driving them home. She had to drop off Andre, who was drunk, before going home.

"You just want Beck for yourself." Tori accused.

"Doesn't matter. Beck is looking to get even. First girl he dates is going to be for sex. I'll bet he slept with at least one girl at that party. I don't want to be his rebound, and neither should you. Once he's had a chance to get over her, then all bets are off. Got that, little sister." Trina said.

"And what makes you think you know so much?" Tori asked.

"I listen when I peer counsel." Trina said.

"You're a peer counselor?" Tori was stunned. Her sister was so self centered.

"Yep. It's a great way to stay up on all the latest gossip. Unfortunately, I had to get trained, learn the rules, and now I know stuff I'd love to tell, but can't. I also learned what fucked up lives people live. But I can't stop. I owe doing a good job to my friend Tiffany. She's the one who taught me how to avoid getting raped at parties. Too bad she didn't listen to her own advice." Trina said, just for a second missing her first friend at Hollywood arts. Or rather, the peer counselor who got her through her first year at the school. Tori didn't know the details, just that Tiffany had graduated, and was the mother of twins.

'How did I not notice she did peer counseling?' Tori wondered briefly. Then she shook her head to focus on her current issue, and asked "So I should wait for Beck to get over Jade?"

"Just don't be a conquest. Date someone who wants to date. Beck will be there before you know it." Trina said. "I still think somethings off with the whole Jade thing."

"And I still think it's weird that someone who seems to know as much about boys as you claim to is dating a romance novel." Tori said.

"Amanda Rothschild understands pain, and may be the only woman alive I'd have an affair with. She's just so deep." Trina said. Tori laughed. That had to be the weirdest thing she'd ever heard her sister say. "Don't laugh yet. From what I've read, she has to be great in bed."

Tori was left to try and sleep with that image, the image of some middle aged woman getting to second with her sister, stuck in her head.

:}

It didn't flow the way I wanted it to, but I'm still happy with it. I know there were so me Olympic level conclusion leaping involved in this chapter. Not saying if they were right or wrong, just it happens. People leap to some amazing conclusions with minimal evidence. But, Jade's poor, or was, and her mother was the other woman for her father.

Too the person who said it was boring, I hope this ads a little excitement. I'd original written it with two car chaises and fifteen explosions, but that didn't fit the plot.

So review, let me know what you think. I'll tell you, things will get worse before they get better, and jade may act a little OOC before it's done. I'll explain later, after I don't have too.;


	3. Chapter 3 Choosing sides

Ch:3 choosing sides.

:}

Tori would spend her weekend doing the normal things, Party, get her homework done, then party some more. She also hung out with her friends, or rather, the friends she had left. She wanted spend time with all of them, to comfort Cat and help Andre deal with the stress of losing two people he considered close. Mostly, however, she wanted to spend some time with Beck. Despite her best efforts, spending every moment she could spare with her friends, opening her home for them to hang out and play cards, she never laid eyes on Beck. Apparently he was out, dating and living it up. Or as Trina had called it, compensating. "Remember, a lot of what he's doing, to his mind, is getting even. To him, nothing he does now is serious. It's just, you know, fun. And probably to hurt Jade." Trina had explained. "Most likely to show Jade he can do it too." Tori didn't want to know how she knew any of that, and just assumed she'd been watching Doctor Phil.

So instead of spending time helping Beck find his way back, she got to be there for Andre and Cat. They both needed someone to listen, and Tori found herself playing Doctor Phil.

Andre was worried about Beck's actions. He spent a fair amount of time explaining why. It was more then just the change in Beck's character, though that did grate on Andre, since the musician was generally honest. Andre was also worried about Beck not listening to his advice. Beck was partying with Northridge girls, and didn't have a clue about the real risks. "Funny when getting a girl pregnant isn't the worst thing that can happen." The musician had said. "Even if he uses protection, avoids whatever diseases these girls might be carrying, he's messing with Northridge Girls. And if you're messing with Nothrige girls, that means your also dealing with the Northridge boys. Some of them might not be too happy with Beck scoring on their girls." Tori tried to offer what support she could without holding his hand, since to her mind any show of affection while he was so worked up could easily be misinterpreted. "Then there's the question of what happens when he breaks hearts. Not every girl is just going to go away, and some of them have brothers tougher then the inmates in a Yerbainian prison. Man, Tor, I'm really worried about him. Even players need to live by rules." Andre made Tori worry, and she began to feel helpless, unable to do anything to save Beck from himself.

To make things worse, Cat was depressed, needing to talk with Tori or Andre so she didn't feel so worthless. While she still didn't seem to want Robbie for herself, she hated the idea that, for whatever reason, Jade could have slept with him. "She knew I was kinda, maybe interested in him." Cat had explained. Tori soon found out she hadn't been Cat's only source of comfort in the past. Now, with both Jade and Robbie out of the group, Tori discovered she made up one hundred percent of Cat's support and comfort. Apparently Sam wasn't big on giving consolation, and her Nona was "Too old to understand. I mean, did they even have sex back when she was my age?"

Still, between parties, Tori did what she could to help pull Cat out of her depression. They even did an episode of 'The Funny Nugget Show,' indulging in the shows big secret, booze. As Tori had once written in her diary, 'It's always funny how no one figures it out. Cat and I are just happy drunks. Once we hit that sweet spot, we can do the show and seem to be out of, claim it's due to sleep deprivation, and they buy it. Trust me, it's the booze, and occasionally some weed. I keep Cat away from the hard stuff.' It was their loose secret that no one seemed willing to disbelieve. The advantage of the good girls. That, and Trina knowing how to hide the bottles.

Monday came, and the new dynamic was beginning to take shape. Everyone was watching to see who gave who a ride. But Robbie had ridden his bike to school. After the whole Jade thing blew up, no one wanted to give him a ride.

Jade, however, was alone. She came to school alone, and once there people avoided her. It looked to Tori like no one wanted to be too close. She, like everyone else, had assumed assumed Jade would be looking for a fight. Even the faculty made that assumption. Lane intercepted Jade on her way into the school and spoke with her Monday morning, just like he would speak to her every day that week. Few students seemed placated. There was the belief that, despite the guidance counselors best efforts, there was going to be trouble before things blew over.

As the Monday progressed, it seemed that everyone had chosen sides. Or more specifically, they'd chosen Beck's side. Even Sinjin, who had held a torch for Jade forever, chose Beck's side, but only because the two were already becoming friends. Of course, Burf stayed with Sinjin, and chose Beck's side as well. As for the gang, they all seemed to rally around the "Victim," Beck, not believing Jade or Robbie for a second. Still, the pair both held strong to their protests that nothing happened.

Robbie soon discovered he wasn't alone either. It only took a day or two, but he found himself hanging with some people who wanted to be his friends. Sure, they were mostly made up of guys who admired him for tagging Jade, losers and geeks who made Sinjin seem suave. There were also a couple of girls who wanted to be close to someone willing to take that dangerous ride, but mostly the nerdy boy was surrounded by losers who admired him for doing what they only dreamed of doing.

Things quickly settled into their new patterns, and Jade was the odd woman out. Trina may have sympathy for her, but wouldn't risk being a social outcast by sitting with her during lunch. The others, Jade's critics, the one who stayed hidden within the crowds at school, continued to speak behind Jade's back. They continued to tell each other how wrong what she did was, or that they'd lost what respect they'd had for her for what, and who, she'd done. But the final nail in the coffin that was Jade's social life the fear she'd worked so hard to foster. The fear that hadn't really gone away. It seemed no one was willing to draw fire approaching the girl. Not when the only reward was to be the first to die when Jade finally snapped. Jade was functionally isolated, alone in the crowd.

As the stress within the school mounted, Tori found she wanted answers. More specifically, she wanted one of the outcasts to admit what they'd done, how wrong it was, and then beg for forgiveness. Then, she felt, she might be able to forgive Robbie, and let him back into her friendship. Tori saw Jade as a lost cause. She was sure Jade was out of the group forever. Tori wasn't sure why, but Jade's betrayal of Beck hurt, and she couldn't seem to find any forgiveness for the dark-hearted girl.

Tori didn't get a chance to talk with Robbie until Tuesday. The group was still ostracizing Jade, and by extension Robbie, so the unwritten rules of school interactions said she couldn't approach either, not even for an explanations. But there were exceptions. Tori was allowed to talk with either for school related purposes, and Tori had study hall with Robbie. So that day, in class, Tori decided she could get her answers. She hoped that by the end of the day, she'd be one step closer to starting to bring the nerdy boy back, assuming he capitulated. She would just wait for her chance, and since no one would see her, or if they did they'd assume it was for a class assignment, she wouldn't break any of the unwritten social rules that said don't talk to him. In Study hall, Tori knew she could approach him without being seen as breaking the social rules against it. It was time for Tori to get some answers.

"So, Robbie, I know Jade has threatened to kill you if you talk, but you can't go through life afraid of her. Tell me the truth. How did you wind up wearing Jade's shirt." Tori said after cornering him in a back room off the library. She wanted her answers, even though she was sure she wouldn't like it once she knew the truth.

"I told you, It's my sisters shirt. I think she got it on line." Robbie said. The last line sounded a bit fake. He then continued with "It's not fair, getting on Jade's case like this. She does one nice thing for me, and I mean like in the last year, and suddenly she's my mistress?"

"While I agree Robbie would have to pay to get a woman to touch him, Jade would be too expensive." Rex chimed in. "Sides, where's the scars that'd come from baby skin here playing rough with the mistress of the night."

'I can't believe he's defending her' Tori thought. Then she said "You know, Robbie, you could try and come up with a decent lie. I've met your sister, and she wouldn't be caught dead in a 'Suicidal bunnies' shirt. I mean, you could have said she left it at the laundromat, or anything like that, and it would have been more believable."

"Laundromat! My god! Why didn't I think of that?" Robbie exclaimed, slapping his head. The library echoed from his outburst, but no one except Tori understood, or cared about, what he just said. Everyone seemed willing to just ignore the outburst, including the librarian.

"So you admit it's her shirt?" Tori said.

"Tori, you're right, it's her shirt. And while there's a perfectly innocent reason I had access to that shirt, I can't tell you. Jade swore me to secrecy. The only thing I can tell you is I didn't sleep with her." Robbie emphasized.

"You know I'd be the first to brag if either of us got some of that fine tail, but believe you me, we didn't do nothing." Rex added.

"Then tell me how you wound up wearing that shirt?' Tori said.

"I can't." Robbie said, almost fearfully, before he extradited himself from where Tori had cornered him. Robbie quickly started to head back to the main study group for study hall, stopping only to add "I really did think it was my sisters shirt at the time." Then he was back in the class, and the talk was over. Tori knew she wasn't going to get any more out of him, and the struggle to keep him there for further questioning would draw the wrong type of attention.

'I'll give him until Friday to come clean.' Tori decided. 'If not, I'm getting my answers, one way or another. Oh yea, I'm so getting my answers. Then I can fix things, help Robbie earn his way back into the group. Jade, she's practically dead to us, but there has to be hope for one of them. As pathetic as Robbie is, he was my friend. I don't want to lose two friends. One was hard enough.' Tori really wanted things back to where they once were, with her friends hanging out, seeing big bones at the museum, and otherwise doing chiz together over the weekend, between the parties. 'It just feels so wrong to lose both of them, and someone has to admit they did wrong. I need one of them to admit it was wrong.' Tori had thought, but buried that under her need to fix things.

However, the school, as always, had it's own drama's to play out, and they'd bring their own ramifications. Tori knew no one no one would have the death wish required to say anything to Jade's face, still the goth was being ridiculed behind her back, and the word "Whore" had been written on her locker. As the week had moved towards Thursday, Tori would discover that the administration had, on multiple occasions over the week, deleted posts on the Slap. This was despite the websight being student run and supposedly outside the influence of the administration. The students who ran it told her that they felt it best to go along. Cyberbullying can lead to serious lawsuits. But one things was clear. Jade was being harassed, and the ones responsible hid behind whatever masks they could. By Wednesday someone even made a stencil of "Whore", and along with a can of spray paint marked Jade's locker almost as fast as the last one was removed.

By Thursday morning, the school seemed to have decided to forgive Robbie. Maybe they just weren't going to continue to hold him accountable, agreeing that whatever his sins, they paled in comparison to the falling of the ice queen. Or maybe the fact that people still liked him gave him some immunity. It didn't matter anymore. Robbie seemed to be off the hook, but everyone seemed ready, even eager, to continue to shame Jade. It was almost a sport now, baiting the bear, but staying out of range of it's claws.

Then Thursday, at lunch, Scotty Peirson finally crossed the line. It was just after the bell had rung and people were visiting their lockers to get whatever they needed. Jade was just finishing getting whatever from her once again tagged locker when he approached, backed up by two of his friends.

"Hay Jade, I'll give you Ten dollars for a blow job in the janitors closet." He called out in the middle of the hall. Jade turned to glare at him, so he continued. "Don't give me that. I know that's why you spend so much time in there."

"Walk away while you can." Jade forced out through clinched teeth.

"Don't be like that. It's ten dollars. Now that your reputations garbage, I assumed it was the going rate for a quicky." He pressed.

Not far away, Tori was at her own locker exchanging books and getting ready for lunch. She saw, and heard, the whole thing happening. And while she felt bad for Jade, didn't even think of helping. Jade had brought this on herself.

"Last warning. Walk away before you regret ever speaking to me." Jade warned. Tori would later remember that no one in the school had ever gotten to this point with Jade. They'd be too afraid of what the queen of revenge would do.

Scotty seemed emboldened by Jade's attempts at restraint. "And what are you going to do about it, slut. You know you like it. Heck, after Robbie, I should be charging you." He said as he stepped in on Jade. He'd cut off her main routs of escape, using his body to try and force her against her locker.

Jade snapped. She reached out, grabbing his shirt, and swept his legs as she shifted her weight to throw him back first against Robbie locker. Scotty hit with a loud thud, then slid down to the floor, stunned. There was a noticeable dent in Robbie's locker where his head had hit, and the nipples had broken of and fell to the floor. There was also a trickle of blood.

Lane and Helen chose that moment to show up. "Jade, please go to my office." Lane said. "Someone please help Mister Pierson to the nurses office." Students stood watching after Lane gave the orders.

"Now!" Helen said, just loud enough for her voice to seem to reverberate through the halls, and the students started moving. "And everyone else can go to lunch. I want this hall cleared now!" Students moved quickly, while Tori moved to pretend to help Scotty Pierson to the nurses office. Truthfully, she wanted to know what was going to happen. Once the students were gone, Helen joined Lane in his office. Tori moved to follow, 'just in case they needed a witness'. She knew a place, thanks to Trina, where she could overhear everything said in Lane's office, as long as the vents were open.

"Jade, I know you've been through a rough week, but we can't have you going around hurting students. I'm afraid we're going to have to punish you." Lane informed the goth. There was no trace of anger in his voice, just a sense of disappointment. Jade didn't say a word. She just watched as the school officials were getting ready to sentence her. She knew Scotty never touched her, so he would probably get off without as much as a warning.

"It can't be a slap on the wrist." Helen said. "That was assault. Maybe you can claim self defense, since he did invade your personal space, but it was still assault. We'll ask the police not to press charges."

Jade was shocked. It was the first time anyone had taken her side in living memory. "And what's my punishment?" She asked. Tori, listening in, knew It was probably best if the goth just took whatever they offered, since they were trying to be nice. As nice as the situation allowed.

"I think suspension." Lane said. When Jade looked at him, he quickly continued. "You can survive a few absentees, so it won't hurt your grades too much. And I think maybe you need to be away for this for a while. Give it time to blow over a bit. How about this. We arrange for your work to be delivered to you, and you miss the next six school days." It sounded reasonable, but Jade knew it wouldn't blow over in a week. Still, it was better than she deserved. As far as Jade and Tori knew, she should have been expelled.

"Okay." Jade said. "Out of curiosity, will Scotty be punished for what he was doing? It was bullying." then added mentally. 'Or more accurately, attempted suicide.'

"I don't think that's going to be appropriate." Lane said.

"If the security tapes prove he was bullying, I'll give him detention for a week, plus both Saturdays." Helen said. Lane looked at her. "Bullying leads to all kinds of problems, and the bullies almost never get punished. Better to stop this now, before there's a shooting at Hollywood Arts."

"But Jade's a bully." Lane said, trying not to be herd by the goth. Hidden in her spot, Tori mentally agreed with the guidance counselor.

"But she doesn't do it as much as the real ones, and targets more stable individuals. She targets those who can take it." Helen said. "Plus, I think a solid policy against bullying will help her to stop as well."

That was were Tori bowed out. Jade was getting off far too easily. The Latina stopped by the nurses office, and learned that Scotty probably had a concussion. Jade had made her point. Mess with her, and get hurt. Tori wasn't happy about any of this. Now she found herself taking Scotty Peirson's side, and he was scum. 'Who else propositions a girl in the main hallway?'

Jade left before lunch was over. Meanwhile, Tori was looking to speak to Beck. She found him at their usual lunch table with Cat, Andre and Sinjin. Today there wasn't the occasional girl trying to fill in the open space in the group. Tori quickly ate her lunch while the others talked about what a psycho Jade had become. Only Andre seemed uncomfortable with talking about Jade. 'He had a crush on her once.' Tori reminded herself. 'This has to be hard on him.'

"Um, Beck? I was wondering if we could talk?" Tori asked.

"We are talking." He said, smiling. "But if you want someplace more private, we could talk in the janitors closet." Smooth as ever, he managed to make it sound innocent.

"Actually, this could take some time, and I don't want to miss class. Maybe you could drop by my place, about five thirty?" Tori said

"You mean like hanging out, or like a date?" Beck asked.

"Lets just talk for now, okay?" She replied, looking at the ground and blushing just a bit.

"Five thirty, got it. I'll see you later then." Beck said as he started drifting towards class.

"See ya." Tori said back. It felt wrong, but at the same time like something she had to do. Beck was too good a guy to be pining over Jade.

The rest of the school day dragged by. Everyone was too preoccupied with how Jade finally snapped to concentrate on their work. One teacher gave up half way though their lesson, and held a discussion about the whole Jade situation. The conclusion they came up with, don't poke the bear. Especially when it's angry.

Later that day, Tori was home waiting for Beck to arrive. She'd asked Trina to be there, so that no matter what, she would have someone to keep her focused. She wasn't promiscuous by nature, but Beck was so handsome and charismatic. It was best not to give temptation a chance. Not yet.

But Tori was ready for Beck. After rushing home, Tori had showered and dressed nicely, choosing a dress instead of her usual jeans and top. The singer was pacing, waiting for him to arrive. She was waiting to see what kind of relationship she was going to have with Beck in the weeks to come. Summer was coming, and Tori wanted to know where she stood.

More importantly, if she was going to date Beck, she needed to figure out how to handle Jade. In the past, Jade was cool with the possibility of Tori and Beck dating. Of course, that was before the two had gotten back together again, and back when Jade was their friend. Now Jade was the Jezebel who had betrayed Beck with one of his friends. And she was dangerous. Tori got lost for a moment, flashing back to that split second where Jade had thrown Scotty Peirson into the locker. Jade was surprisingly strong... A knock at the door took her out of her thoughts, though what thoughts she wasn't quite sure.

:}

Not quite happy with how this chapter came out. It just flows wrong, the tempo. But I hope you like it anyways. Please remember, there's more then two sides to any situation, especially when rumors and status are involved. Just look at any celebrity who gets tangentially involved in a scandal. Some people will defend them to the end of the earth, s were waiting for the chance to tear them down.

So, review ans tell me what you think. I'm thinking there has to be something if Jade's putting up with this. Next time, less violence.

Oh yea, don't poke the bear.


	4. Chapter 4 to date or not to date

Disclaimer: Several characters in this story will be acting out, sometimes driven by emotions they don't understand, or even recognize. They may be OOC for some time, but I hope to have them back eventually. Sorry, this warning should have been on Chapter one, two at the latest.

:}

Beck stood there in the doorway. He hadn't changed from school, but still had the kind of handsome looks that sometimes transcended cloths. Tori was aware of how attracted to him she was.

"Beck, glad to see you. I know this could have been handled over the phone, but I felt that, given the personal nature of the conversation, it would be best if it was face to face." Tori said.

"Okay, what're we talking about?" He asked.

"I've heard you're hurting. I think, maybe, if we date, we'll need to talk it out first. I just want to know what kind of relationship we're going to have, and I don't want to be a conquest." Tori said, walking back towards the couches.

"Tori, I'd never treat you like that. I don't..." Beck started, but his voice faded out. He stood there, looking at Tori for a few seconds, trying to make his mind work. It was as if something had just occurred to him, and it seemed to take his thoughts away. Words had always been so easy for him, but he just couldn't make his voice work. "I'm sorry." He finally said.

"For what?" Tori looked confused.

"I've had sex with five girls in the last week, since the whole thing with Jade." Beck confessed as he walked up to the closest couch section and sat down hard. He seemed to deflate. "My god, what have I been doing?" He was on the verge of tears. "T-Tori, what am I becoming?"

"I don't know what to say? I know you've been hurting, and that if you'd wanted to, there were a lot of girls who'd love to be there for you, even if it was for one night." Tori told him, moving to sit on the same couch as Beck. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Beck, I'm here for you. I'd like to know if we're friends, or maybe something more. Either way, I'm not planning on sleeping with you." He chuckled, finding something to laugh at in the pain of his sudden realization. Tori wondered if this was an act, or if Beck was disgusted with himself for sleeping around.

"He should probably see someone, get tested." Drifted from her fathers office, making Tori flinch. Tori was grateful it was just Trina, who had been listening in at her request. She didn't want to have this discussion while her father was here.

Beck had jumped at the sound of Trina's voice. Now standing, his heart poun ding, he looked around trying to see where Trina was. The elder sister hadn't bothered to enter the room. "Oh my GOD!" Beck screeched.

"Relax, she's the one who told me you were probably screwing around." Tori said, trying hard not to laugh. "I think she's right. Before we get to far, I think we should both get tested. That way, neither of us will be judged." Tori flashed her best smile, and Beck calmed down, just a bit.

"Okay, we'll get tested tomorrow after school. Funny way to spend our first date." He smiled weakly.

"Yea, about that. I want to date, but we should take it slow. I don't want to take advantage of you either. When we are a couple, I want it to be for the right reasons." Tori told him. The actor smiled and nodded.

"So, what did you hear about Sikowitz's big part?" Beck asked. It was obvious he was changing the subject, so Tori let him. They would have a pleasant conversation for the rest of the evening, talking about schoolwork, current events, what the faculty at school was doing, anything that wasn't about Jade. He needed the distraction. Trina eventually joined them, and while she added to the conversation, was unusually quiet.

Later, after Beck had gone home, as the girls were getting ready for bed, Trina took the chance to ask her sister a question. "Tori, are you hoping to date Beck because you want him, or because you're afraid he'll go back to Jade if you don't?" Trina didn't wait for an answer, instead going to bed. Friday was coming, and she had a full day of getting invited to parties ahead of her.

By the end of Friday, everyone in the school knew Tori was with Beck. They were acting like a couple. Sitting together, holding hands, and laughing. It wasn't intentional, at least not on Tori's part, she just felt she needed to be there for him. And maybe they weren't actually dating, but to the school gossip mill they might as well have been sleeping together. And the comments on the slap reflected that belief. And the school was all abuzz with the possibilities, because whatever was on the slap, Jade knew.

After school Tori and Beck went to the hospital to get tested. Originally they were going to go to Planned Parenthood, but both agreed that they didn't need to be judged for things they hadn't done. Instead, they went to the hospital, where they could be there for any one of a hundred reasons. It took over an hour, and was as date like as could be expected. They talked as they waited, and in time they managed to admit things they didn't usually tell friends. Tori's first time was with Danny, while Beck's first time was with some girl named Darcy, who he'd dated before Jade entered the picture. "And no, Darcy wasn't the girl Jade threw into the lake" Beck told her. It was an awkward wait, but finally a nurse took them back to have their blood drawn. They'd get their results by Monday, and both opted for email alerts.

That night, they decided to do a proper date, and caught a movie. They both felt like something light, and the late night showings of childrens films were where adults got to see the films without the sounds children far too often make in the theater. Afterwords, they went to get food. It was casual, two good friends trying to bridge the gap between friendship and relationship. Tori enjoyed the comfort and feelings of safety she had with the boy. It was still early, they hadn't committed to any real relationship yet, but Tori was happy to spend some time with Beck.

Saturday morning Tori got a call from Andre. "Yo Chiquita, whats up?" The musician started.

"Hey Andre. Good Morning. Whats with the early call?" Tori asked.

"Just checking on you. Making sure nothing mysterious had happened." Andre smiled, and she could hear it in his voice. But while his statement may have sounded like a joke, under the surface he was deadly serious.

"Nope, I'm fine, just a little tired from the early call." Tori said.

"So you missed a pretty good par-tay last night." Andre said.

"Yea, I wasn't in the mood to go to some Nothridge party. I hope you guys had fun." Tori had gotten back from her date with Beck early enough that she could have caught the majority of the party. She didn't go because she was worried that she might run into Jade. No reason to risk anything before she and Beck made a decision about their future.

"Don't worry, we did fine. Soooo, you and Beck?" Andre asked.

"We're still just friends. I just wanted to comfort him. You know he's going through a lot right now." Tori wanted to say more, but didn't have anything else to add. She'd told Andre the truth, as she knew it.

"Look, I understand that Beck's going through a lot, and I'm as worried about him as anyone. It's you I'm concerned about now. Jade still reads the slap. By now, she knows the rumors, seen the pictures. And Tori, it looks like you're with Beck." The musician said.

"We're just friends." Tori emphasized as she opened her laptop and logged onto the slap. It took her moments to find the pictures.

"Just be careful, okay. I don't want anything to happen to either of you." Andre's concern was touching. Tori wanted to assure him that everything was okay, but she saw the pictures. Over a dozen pictures of her and Beck, and it looked like they were a couple in all of them.

"Andre, I have to go. I need to talk to Beck." Tori started.

"Give him some time. He was at the party last night, and I'm not sure if he's alone right now." Andre's statement broke Tori's heart. She'd stayed home after their date, but he apparently hadn't.

Two hours later, Tori had reached her breaking point. Knowing that confronting Beck right now could only hurt the friendship, Tori instead had waited for Trina to get up. Her sister had been on another date, and had probably gone to a party after since her dates usually didn't last that long. Finally, Trina walked down the stairs, and Tori pounced.

"Do you think I was moving too fast?" Tori asked.

"Why do you ask?" Trina said. "Is this about the pictures on the slap?"

"And the party I didn't go to last night. Beck still went, and may have picked up some slut." Tori's voice started to break.

"My god, is this what it's like to date Beck?" Trina asked. "Unable to trust him, or have him out on his own. Always afraid that if you do one of the legions of girls out there, plotting, might snatch him away.. Worried that some slut will have her one night with him." There was something more unsaid that Trina just let drop. She shifted to look at her sister, "Or maybe you should call him. It's possible he want to the party, and then went home alone."

Tori looked at her sister. She didn't know what to say, but decided it was probably a good idea to call Beck and see what happened. If she didn't judge him, then they could remain friends if he wasn't ready to stop sleeping around.

Again, she never got the chance. Beck called while she was making up her mind. "Tori, good morning. I just wanted to see if you'd seen the pictures on the slap?"

"I have, and I heard about the party you went to. I don't want to know if you did anything, just if you're ready to have a relationship." She asked him. "I mean, last night didn't have to mean anything."

"I went, hardly drank, and acted as wing-man for Sinjin and Burf. I didn't do anything more than dance with a couple of girls. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not going to sleep with anyone until I'm back in a stable relationship. I just work better that way." Beck reassured her. "You can ask Sinjin. I gave him a ride home."

"I don't have to." Tori said, sounding relieved. She wished it was because she believed him, but it really was because Sinjin wasn't a good liar. Beck's alibi would hold.

They chatted about stuff for a while, like their kinda date, and worried about their test. Tori had almost nothing to worry about. She didn't sleep around. Beck was far more worried. Not only could he have caught something from the Northridge girls, he could have caught all kinds of things from Jade. It made him reluctant to party. "I wish I didn't have to worry about what Jade might have given me, but it would be stupid not to, you know?" He said.

Instead of going to some party, they agreed to go on another date. To keep Tori feeling safe, he agreed to take her someplace Jade wasn't likely to go. "I'll pick you up around five, and we'll go get dinner and maybe some baby golf. From there, maybe we see a movie." Beck had proposed. It was a nice plan, and Tori felt good about it.

She spent the rest of the morning doing her homework. She didn't like having it hanging over her. Usually, she'd get it done before Saturday night so her parents would be more likely to accept her going out. That theory worked as long as she ignored how Trina did things. Her sister didn't ask about going out, she just went, and their parents didn't seem to care. Tori always asked, and her parents always said yes. As long as Tori could convince herself it was because she'd finished her homework, she felt almost cared about.

By five o'clock, Tori was ready to go. She'd wondered how late the date was planned for, thinking that maybe she could sneak over to a party one of her friends from Sherwood told her about. It wasn't likely anyone from Hollywood Arts would be there, and Tori felt she'd earned some partying. Her homework was done, Beck was coming to go out on a healthy date and Trina knew someone loved her. "Treen, you know I love you, right?" She'd asked. Tori made sure that, every once in a while, she told her sister she loved her. It was her normal, considering she couldn't remember the last time their parents had said it to either one of them.

Beck was punctual, arriving just before five. They exchanged pleasantries and took in how each other looked. Beck hadn't dressed up too much, continuing with his normal look. Tori, by contrast, had dressed up a bit. She was out to impress, while Beck was trying to keep things casual. Tori appreciated it.

Despite her intent to keep things light, Tori found herself wondering about Becks conquests. Last night had been casual, but this was technically a second date. It was time to start opening up about serious stuff. Tori decided to hold back, let Beck rebuild trust. He'd been hurt, and probably wasn't ready for anything too serious.

They'd gone to this takeout truck for dinner. Somehow Beck knew about every one of those food trucks, and he seemed to be up on what was best, or worse, at each one. They enjoyed the fajita's out of the truck, and talked about nothing as they sat on the sidewalk. Quickly 'nothing' turned towards Becks recent past.

"I-I really didn't know what I was doing. I mean, I was with these girls without thinking about what I was doing. I just kept thinking about how many men Jade had been with. The thought of her with other men, with Robbie, was just too much for me. I felt that I had to get even, make up for all the times she cheated on me." Beck confessed. It was painful, but Tori reasoned he needed to talk to someone.

"It's okay, Beck. You were hurting, and they were one way you tried to take away the pain. I understand. That's all over now. It is over, right?" Tori sounded concerned, but was worried that she was coming off too much like a friend. Maybe she should have scolded him for his actions, but Trina had warned her this might happen, so she kinda understood. 'Should I be worried about his behavior? I don't think I am, and I think I should be.' Tori's thoughts didn't interrupt the close attention she was paying to her Canadian friends concerns.

"I just hope that it's over now. Only it's never over. Tori, I never wanted to be one of those guys. The ones who sleep around without thinking about the consequences. It's too easy, and I hate easy. I need complicated, something to challenge me." Beck was telling her.

"It might get complicated anyways." Tori told him, desperately thinking of how she could change the topic. She didn't need her second real date with Beck to be this heavy. Tori sent her sister a text just to ease her mind.

Trina (From Tori) – How likely is it for a random unprotected hookup to get result in pregnancy? Beck wants to know.

Tori managed to send the text while holding her phone just out of eye line, but kept her eyes on Beck. "Please, Beck, we need to find a way for you to let this go. Monday we'll know if you got some kind of Northrige based disease, and once cleared of that, you can put this all behind you. We need to look towards the future." Tori was trying to give a pep talk, but it felt wrong.

"You mean, how do we deal with Jade? I don't think it's going to be our problem. Jade's out of the group, and I think she's got her own problems to deal with." Beck said. He didn't sound upset. If anything, he was sounding almost angry. Jade was obviously still a painful subject to the actor.

"Yea, that's another thing. Jade lives for revenge. Do you think she's gonna want to hurt you, us, for spreading those rumors?" Tori was more scared than before. Jade was dangerous. Scotty Pierson had a concussion from one throw. No telling what she'd do to the one responsible for those rumors, or the person he was dating.

"I'm not worried about Jade. I'm more worried about myself. I don't feel guilty about telling people her secrets. I know I should, that a decent person should feel bad about the damage I've done to Jade's reputation. But I don't, and it worries me." His gaze lingered on the street. "What did she do to me, if this is what I'm capable of. I never thought I could so casually..." His voice faded.

Tori was feeling a little more worried about Beck now. 'He's obviously torn up about what Jade did. How do I help him out of this depression? I just want him to be happy, right?' Her thoughts were broken by a text from her sister.

Tori (From Trina) – According to on line, about 2.5% per encounter, so overall less than ten percent chance that Beck has an extra problem. Don't sleep with him.

Tori smiled at her sisters warning. Trina really did look after her, even when their parents ignored them both. Trina was the one who needed what Tori had, friends who cared. Of course, Tori had no idea who Trina's friends were. She knew that her sister had friends, and that every girl Trina claimed to be friends with didn't particularly like her, but Trina had people who she hung out with. Tori wondered if they should look after each other more, deciding she didn't have the time. Her friends needed too much looking after. Beck needed too much looking after.

Trina (From Tori) – Going to a party after the date, wanna come?

Beck had been quiet for almost a minute, and that worried Tori. The actor was sounding lost, and Tori could understand why. Beck had always pictured himself as better than the guys who were out for a cheap thrill. Beck had been in a long term relationship with a girl who was hard to please for over three years, and he was used to being in a relationship. Sex in a relationship is about Trust, growing together, as well as satisfying whatever lust you might be feeling.

"You know what the worst part of this is?" Beck asked, out of the blue. Tori had been hoping that the conversation could get back to being light, care free attempts to impress each other. They were on a date, and she wanted it to be like any other date. It wasn't going to happen, and Tori knew why. She'd known Beck for over a year, and so she knew most of the things she'd learn on a second date anyways. Beck's 'I have no secrets' policy had made it easy to learn about him in the conversations they'd previously had.

"You expect me to answer, don't you?" Tori replied. She smiled, but honestly her main concern was slipping from being a good friend to being a good date, and this wasn't something successful dates talked about.

"Jade never cheated on me before. Even when we broke up, with the exception of Moose, she didn't date. Jade wasn't like most jealous girls, looking for their next relationship while freaking out about anyone I might look at. Jade stayed loyal to me, until she decided that she needed the money that badly." Beck sounded hurt. His head suddenly snapped up, and he caught Tori's eyes. "Her finances have been improving for a while now. Do you think she's been sleeping around for... Oh my god." His head slumped back down.

Tori decided this date was now officially a failure. Despite that, she felt that maybe they should continue, in case the baby golf helped improve Becks spirits. 'He's still too caught up in Jade. If I'm a good friend, I tell him to drop it. If I'm a good potential girlfriend, I tell him to get over her.' Tori thought as she got up and offered Beck her hand. "Baby Golf?"

"Yea, okay. Sorry. I didn't mean to get lost in my pain. It's just, you've been such a good friend, and I feel like I could talk to you about anything. Sorry, I didn't intend Jade to be the main subject." Beck sounded sincere, but Tori wasn't that easily swayed. She felt the pull, the attraction, even that spark, but it just didn't move her the way it might have.

They spent the rest of the date having fun. Tori didn't try to make anything more out of it than two friends hanging out, while Beck relaxed and just enjoyed the company. By the time Beck dropped her off, he was feeling much better.

"Tori, I just wanted to thank you. I had a wonderful night. And I'm sorry. I'm not over Jade yet. I know it's over. I burned that bridge when I told people about her family. I just... I need some time. If you're interested, once I'm ready, one I'm me again, then maybe we'll see. For now, I think I just needed a good friend. Thank you again." He gave her that smile of his, and she felt her knees give just a little. But at the same time, she knew that was just lust, the need to be with someone that hot.

"I understand. Thank you for being honest. You think the gang will understand?" Tori said.

"Maybe. I'll text them later, maybe post it on the slap." Beck said.

"Wait, maybe you shouldn't. Lets pretend to be in a relationship, so you can have time to heal. I'm not dating anyone anyways, and if I meet someone, then we can decide if we want to keep the charade up or not. I think it's be better for us." Tori said, smiling. She had no idea why it felt so important to keep up the illusion, but she knew she had to.

"Thanks, Tor. You're really looking out for me." He said, then he hugged her, and once they were apart again, he turned to go home.

Tori watched him walk to his car, get in, and drive away. 'Why didn't you invite him to the party? He could use some more fun? Oh yea, because these are my friends from Sherwood, and I don't want to share them.' Tori thought to herself.

:}

For those of you looking for Bori, here you go. Beck just isn't ready to be in a relationship yet. He's starting to find himself again, and he knows what he did to Jade was too much. You will see him finding himself more as time goes on. Now, how long until Tori realizes she's lost herself too. Her, Jade, and who knows who else, they just haven't been themselves. (Warning, snark alert) You'd almost think there's a reason for it. Like going through a major emotional crisis. We know what Beck's is, but how about everyone else? Lets see who is the next to start to find their way back.

I use the term "Burned that bridge" a lot, don't I. Review. Let me know your opinion on burning bridges.

Next time, someone does something, and there are consequences.


	5. Chapter 5 who's that at the party

Disclaimer: Don't own the source material.

Warning, Jade may be OOC in this chapter, even though she's not in this chapter. Read it, and you'll see.

:}

By the time Tori got home, Trina was ready to go, her dress showing off her cleavage in the most flattering way possible. Tori took the time to quickly change into something more appropriate for the party, a tight blouse and skinny jeans. Tori touched up her hair and makeup, and she was ready to go. As she made her way back down stairs and towards the door, Trina handed her a roll of condoms.

"Just in case, little sister. We need to think about our futures." It was Trina's standard thing before heading to any party. She always packed condoms "just in case." Of course, it went with her philosophy on getting drunk. Trina was out to have fun, but had no intention of anything ruining her chances at future stardom. She still held out the possibility of hooking up with some hot guy, so she always had condoms.

Before they fully knew it, they were at the party. It was a short drive, then another five minutes to find parking. Once that was done, as they covered the distance to the front door, Tori went over her list of people she would trust with her life, reminding her sister of who at the party they could rely on. They both knew these were the people to find and hang out with for the night. These were the people they could get drunk with, and who would make sure they didn't fall for some pretty boys crap.

Once in the party, the first thing they did was scope the place out. Not having planned on meeting up with anyone, they had to see who was there and what was going on. It took them another ten minutes to go through the whole house, seeing what was there and what was going on in each room. The living room was where their hosts had set up the dance floor, and the music was loudest there. Other rooms had speakers, but turned down enough for people to talk. The hosts parents, people Tori and her family had known for years, were out, leaving their son free to host the party. Naturally, alcohol was everywhere, and they'd found the room dedicated to Pot. Stronger drugs weren't officially being used. Anyone on them had to find an out of the way place to get high before rejoining the party, but everyone knew people were doing just that.

As soon as they were done scoping the party out, Trina found some kids she'd gone to school with before Hollywood Arts. Naturally, the Spanish speakers wanted to talk to Trina about her roll on her show, ¡Divertisimo!. It was fun to see them, but Tori could only listen to the same stories, no matter how recent, so many times before she was done. Tori soon drifted away to some of her old friend. A few who she trusted were here, and she knew enough about the family to be fairly safe in this place. She knew where she could crash if she had to, someplace where most of the party goers wouldn't think to look, and she'd be safely out of the way. Once she had her precautions in place she relaxed, got a little drunk, and enjoyed herself.

That was until about an hour later when she saw Robbie. The awkward boy was wandering among the crowds, drink in hand, but Rex no where in sight. He was good looking enough to draw attention from the girls, and since none of them knew his history, he was dealing with a fair amount of female attention. This was a rare situation for the puppeteer.

It took Tori several second to recognize him beyond the "I know that Guy" stage. The way he was dressed was too sharp, too casual. It was like he one day opened his eyes and realized that while the way he normally dressed was okay, there were ways to dress himself that would flatter his better features while hiding flaws. He was wearing his glasses, but managed to do so in a way that looked more cool and less dorkish, like he was comfortable with them. It almost seemed like he started there, and built his outfit around that feature.

Then there was the attitude. Robbie was relaxed, not taking anything too seriously, but at the same time showing an unusual level of confidence. Tori had to admit, it was as much his lack of confidence as his weird ways that kept girls away. But tonight he was relaxed, not letting anything he said or did discourage him. He approached a girl, spoke with her, and moved on if she didn't show interested. That alone drew the attention of several girls, impressed by how easily he entered and left conversations. They'd been watching as he approached, and then and he left, rating his looks, confidence, and obvious easy humor. As he moved on, several seemed to have second thoughts, some even following him so as to possibly have a second chance to talk to him. The result was he was now in the center of a group of pretty girls all vying for a chance to get to know this good looking newcomer to their world. Tori realized Robbie was on the prowl, letting each girl know he was looking for something longer term then this night, all without limiting his options.

It would have taken someone who knew the boy really well, say a close personal friend, to see the hint of nerves hidden just under the surface. But like the good actor he was, Robbie pushed past it and played this part to perfection. Tori knew that if getting laid was his goal, he'd already found multiple potential partners willing to fuck his brains out. There were several girls chatting him up who were, to Tori, obviously willing, even inviting him to try them.

Normally, if anything of what she was seeing could ever be called normal, Tori would let him be. Perhaps she might even root for her friend, except for two things. First, one of the girls around him, probably the prettiest, was one of Tori's friends from Sherwood. Tori would want to make sure she wasn't being played before letting any newcomer this smooth waltz in and seduce her. The second was Tori suddenly realizing she'd never gotten that answer she'd wanted from him. 'I gave him until Friday, and look, it's Saturday. Past time to get me some answers.' She'd thought. Now, fueled by her anger at Jade, Tori found his refusal to admit what he'd done was wrong was wazzing her off to no end. 'I just want him to stop lying to protect her. He should just admit that sleeping with Jade was wrong, even if she needed the money and came on to him. You don't do that to a friend.' Tori found she desperately wanted, needed, the nerdy boy to confess. And he had to do it of his own volition. Only now he was a target of opportunity, with something to lose, so it was time to find out what he was hiding.

Tori detached from the guys hanging out with her, including Danny. 'There was a time I'd have included him in the list of people I'd trust with my life.' She thought with just a tinge of regret, but couldn't stay focused on him. Part of the it was his new girlfriend, someone Tori liked. But mostly the singer needed to stay focused. Tori was on a mission. It took her seconds to reach the group, another second to push past the girls who wanted to try the tasty new guy, as well as the few guys there to make sure the girls didn't get themselves a taste, and then Tori was face to face with Robbie.

"Robbie, nice to see you without Rex. Where's the puppet?" She asked. Before he could form an answer, she spoke up so the gathered crowd could hear over the music. "I'm glad you've finally grown enough to face the world without your puppet. Seriously, he usually takes it everywhere." She addressed the group, as if filling in context.

And just like that, his cool factor was gone. A couple of the girls took that as a reason to move on, with the guys followed the girls. Robbie was no longer the threat they'd once seen him as. They felt safer, surer that the girls they'd mentally laid claim to weren't going to go with the formally cool new guy. However Tori's friend Cece, along with a few others, stuck around to see what was going on. They'd seen more then one jealous girlfriend say nasty things to get their boy alone. Then there were the ones who wanted to see if he was worth fighting for, and others who were hoping for the drama to explode. Hollywood Arts wasn't the only school where nasty bit of drama was functionally entertainment. What was left of his admirers stepped back to give them some room, but stayed close enough to hear whatever was about to be said.

Tori looked to make sure Cece was gone, but the girl had stayed close. Cece was an attractive natural redhead about half an inch shorted than Tori. An aspiring model, Cece had the looks if not the height, with a lingerie models build. Convinced of her own beauty, Cece had developed a bit of an attitude since she and Tori first became friends. Still, she was one of the people Tori cared enough to worry about. Trina's opinion of the girl was summed up when the older Vega bet she'd be pregnant by twenty.

"Tori! Was that really necessary?" Robbie whined as people shifted places, most going back to the party to find a new potential romance. His reversion to his old self did drive a few more girls away.

"It is if you don't tell me the truth. Why did you sleep with Jade?" Tori asked. Cece seemed to take the news of his apparent conquest without any reaction. Instead, she watched the impending confrontation, hoping to gain some valuable insights that she could use. Others in the audience shifted away, while those looking for drama were giving their rapt attention.

"I didn't. Why won't anyone believe me? And now this party's ruined." He whined the last part. His mood was souring quickly. "I can't strike out again." He now sounded deflated, defeated. Of course, with this new revelation,. the last of the would be daters, save Cece, departed. Half of the others left too, seeing this as more of a lecture then a fight.

"Why not?" Tori asked. She briefly thought about asking more, like if Rex was taunting him for paying for companionship, but didn't get the chance. The boy answered quickly, and broke her chain of thoughts.

"Jade said I..." His hand was over his mouth in an instant, and Tori had to know more. This wasn't sure what she expected, but that wasn't it. So she grabbed Robbie to pull him outside. She needed privacy for him to open up, distance from the crowd. And if this was as good as she thought it might be, then the crowd would grow again. Tori needed him to open up, to talk to her, and that meant discretion.

'No way I'm being seen pulling him into one of the rooms.' Tori thought, as she chose her destination. She didn't want anyone thinking she'd slept with a guy who carried a puppet around. Glancing back, she saw had Cece decided to follow, staying back enough to give the impression she wasn't listening in. Tori knew Cece loved gossip, and this had the makings of something good. Thankfully, no one else was invested in Tori's life enough to want to follow.

Once outside, Tori pulled him just far enough from the house where they could talk without being overheard, but were still very visible to anyone who looked. Tori chose that spot, the whole being seen tasking but nothing more, to protect her reputation. These were her friends, after all, and they weren't going to see her as having done anything she didn't actually do. She didn't need them thinking she was into Robbie, especially when she may have to kill him. 'I wonder, could I hide the body in Shadow creek Park? I don't know that area, but I'm guessing it's a pretty good place to hide bodies. How many has Jade hidden there?' Tori shook her head. 'Back to business.'

"Okay Robbie, spill. I can make it so you never have another date, or I can introduce you to half the girls in this party. Start talking. What was that about Jade you were spouting just now? Why did you have Jade''s shirt on that day? What's going on? Why haven't you answered my questions?" Tori asked in rapid succession.

"Tori, please, I can't tell you much. Jade lives near me, near enough that my sister was wearing her shirt. I didn't know it was hers when I took that picture. As for what Jade said, well, you see..." He was nervous. His eyes darted around, but whatever he was looking for wasn't there. It was almost like he expected Jade to somehow be watching, scissors in hand, ready to strike him down.

"Out with it." Tori wasn't feeling too patient. 'He lives near Jade? He knows what her house is like, right?' She couldn't ponder that too long, she needed to give him her attention when he spoke, cause he might not repeat whatever he was about to say.

"Jade told me to meet someone. I mean, she wants me to meet a girl. She thinks I need a girlfriend, said the rumors would stop if I had a girlfriend." The boy spat out. "She said, if I don't have some girls number when I get home tonight, she'll do something drastic to Rex. She has him now, and I need to win some girls affections if I'm ever going to see Rex again." Robbie was on the verge of crying.

Tori suspected he was holding something back, but there was a strong element of the truth in his story. Those were not fake tears, and Jade's way of getting people to do what she wanted often involved threats. Then there was the evidence, like the fact that he'd been using a relaxed, practiced approach, the kind he'd never really had. Someone had to have coached him. A lot. To the point where he didn't break character until Tori showed up, and he didn't let the potential one night stands distract him from the stated goal. Then there was the question of how he knew about the party. Tori was sure he didn't know anyone there, or who might have been invited, outside of herself and Trina. Someone would have to know how to find out about where parties were happening to have found this party, and that wasn't Robbie's strong point. He might have heard about it from another party, but that would again require a practiced smoothness he just didn't have. Finaly, Rex wouldn't miss a party, and the puppet was no where to be seen. So the whole thing about Jade wanting him to meet someone rang true.

But one piece was off. Jade told him that him having a girlfriend would kill the rumors about them. 'That just asn't true. Those people targeting Jade, harassing her, everything she deserves, they wouldn't stop even if Rob here walked in with a super model. There's more to this then he's telling. I don't know, maybe Jade sees herself as the most ruthless sexual segregate in the world?' Tori thought. She couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her lips.

"Okay, maybe I believe you, but why didn't she tell us that?" Tori asked.

"Would you have believed that? She wasn't lying, her father really doesn't want her friends dropping by. If I didn't live so close, he wouldn't allow me to ride in the same car as her. I don't think he likes me..." Robbie voice echoed a deep hurt. It wasn't something Tori wanted to get into, so she changed the subject. She'd want more from him in the future, so she figure it was best to pay up, just a little, now. He'd be more forthcoming once he knew she kept her word.

Turning to her friend, who'd listened in to the whole thing while pretending to check her phone, "Cece, this is Robbie. Yes, he has a puppet, and it's practically a person. But he's also a talented guitarist, singer, actor and song writer." She tried not to roll her eyes at the last part. "Robbie's worth dating, if you're willing to put up with Rex. Also, if you date him, don't you Dare Break his Heart, Clear!" Tori was doing her best intimidation, and it seemed to work on Cece. The redhead immediately agreed.

After that, Tori went back into the party, found someone she really trusted, and got wasted. She wanted to forget how angry Jade made her. Forcing Robbie to go to a party just to save her own reputation. Threatening Rex. Hurting Beck, She may have ruined Beck. Tori drank to forget Jade, and by the time she was done, she'd forgotten her own name. Unfortunately, she could still see that smirk on Jade's face.

:}

So, Robbie on the prowl. Who saw that coming? Wonder whats up with that. Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out.

So, thoughts? Reviews are a great way to let me know what your thinking. I know some of you have already figured out the first secret. What? There's more then one? Yep.


	6. Chapter 6 Tori's cold shoulder

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or it's characters. I make nothing from this.

:}

Tori woke up in her own bed. The advantage of having someone looking out for you. She'd forgotten how nice it could be to be able to trust someone with her life, or just as importantly, with her body. She was alone, she knew that, but still felt a compulsion to check. Sitting up quickly gave her a quick reminder that her head hurt and she'd drunk too much. Tori immediately checked the night stand, confirming that, once again, Trina had forgotten to leave her aspirin and water. No pain reliever to help combat her hangover hangover. 'But I'm home, thats good.' she thought. The Latina got up, still wobbly, and headed to her bathroom to get her medication. Once she had something, Tori went downstairs in search of a bottle of water, or at the very least some purified water from the home system.

As Tori descended the stares she was flooded with memories of the past. Of how her father had devised the perfect way to control her and Trina's Saturday night partying. A way that dissuaded them from drinking too much, or staying out too late. But they hadn't gone to church, let alone the early mass, in years. Without the threat of trying to get through a full Catholic mass while hung over to keep them in check, it was only their sense of self preservation that kept the sisters restrained. Tori once again felt that pang of hurt that her parents had given up. On her, on the family. They claimed they were just giving the girls space to explore themselves.

Last night, surrounded by friends she could trust, Tori had no reason not to drink. She knew she must have had some major motivation, however. She didn't like getting blackout drunk. Too many chances of doing something dumb. Tori knew safe meant in control. So she let her memories of last night flow, trying to remember something, anything, some reason she let herself get that drunk. 'I seem to recall something about Jade, and Robbie, and was she forcing him to hook up, or else?'

That thought sobered her up, as much as any thought could. Once again she couldn't escape the subject of Jade. Tori was so angry at the goth for what she'd done to Beck. 'And now that she was no longer dating Beck, she's using Robbie to help her deal with her compulsive need to order people around.' Tori fumed at the thought. She had to find something to occupy her mind, before she did something she'd regret. And any form or retaliation against Jade could well turn out to be something Tori would regret. In the past, Jade was willing to let it go with Tori winning, but only if her personal humiliation was below a certain level. 'I'm certain she had something to do with them losing my blood at the hospital that time. All over who got to play Steamboat Susie. I just never could prove she did it.'

Tori had to stop herself from thinking about Jade. But one thing was worth remembering, Jade could make her anger felt. Tori's practiced sense of self preservation, the same sense that had her jump out of a moving car (Thank god she didn't kill herself) told her to minimize the time Jade is wazzed at her. Tori was convinced Jade was burying bodies up in that desert. 'Probably what she uses that shovel for.' Tori decided.

At the same time, Tori couldn't just let Jade get away with cheating on Beck. 'She had no right to take him back. Not if she knew she was going to be whoring around like that.' Tori found herself thinking. 'Or threatening Rex if Robbie didn't go out and find someone. She's so selfish. Everything she does just winds up hurting the group. Robbie's out, trying to win his way back in. Cat was on the verge of tears. And Andre... Andre's defending her. DEFENDING HER! It doesn't make sense. Andre's always on my side.' Tori forced herself to stop. Trina was also defending Jade, but that didn't seem to matter that much at that moment..

Tori finished her thoughts by sending Beck a text.

Beck (From Tori) – Lets keep out arrangement secret from EVERYONE, for now. It's best if they think you've moved on.

Tori was now slipping, drowning in her anger towards her friends. 'They should be on board with hating Jade. It didn't matter how much Jade felt she needed the money, I'm was sure she could have found another way. Andre has a job, earns money.' Tori thought, over and over, not willing to let go of this chain of thoughts. 'And Andre always liked her.' Realization hit hard. 'Was he one of her clients? He says he'd never do that to a friend, but what about when Jade was single? My god, Andre fucked her.' Tori felt betrayed again, no longer sure when the first time that feeling had overcome her lately was. So let her anger stew for the rest of the day. It clouded her Sunday, and in retaliation she often cursed Jade for the manipulative gank she was.

By Monday, Tori was done. She'd spent her whole Sunday thinking about Jade, and how the girl had betrayed everyone. Not even Trina's attempts to talk to her, or get her to help with her sisters homework, had distracted Tori for long. But by Monday, Tori was done.

Tori was done with those thoughts. She didn't want to deal with that shit any more. She went to school, and tried to ignore Robbie. She didn't want to hear it from the comedian. Whatever excuse he had, Tori didn't care. As far as Tori was concerned Jade was his starter fuck. Until he admitted what he did, and that it was wrong, Tori didn't want to know him. It wasn't just the cold shoulder she gave him, she also played up the whole girlfriend with Beck roll whenever Robbie was around. Tori knew she just could not ignore Robbie completely. They had class together, and Tori found she needed the boy to know she was upset. So she ignored him in the most obvious way she could think of. When that didn't feel like enough, she stole Rex and hid him in Lane's office.

Tori's treatment of Andre was a little different. She let him know she was mad at him, gave all the subtle clues, but never even hinted at why. "You know what you did." Was all she'd say to her best friend. Despite being obvious how disappointed she was, showing it in her voice and interactions with the musician, Tori still treated him as her friend. His betrayal wasn't as deep, since it was probably while Jade and Beck were broken up. 'Still not right, but at least I can understand him.' She'd thought. 'In time, when he's past the shame, he'll admit it. Admit that he slept with Jade, payed her, and that it was wrong to sleep with his friends girlfriend. In time...'

Cat was the only member of the gang that Tori tried to treat the same as before. But for all the effort she put into keeping that relationship normal, It was a failure. Cat was having trouble adjusting to the new dynamics of her various friendships. As a result, Cat was retreating further into her friendship with Sam, and spending even less time out of school with the gang. Tori tried to understand, but still blamed Jade for the loss of yet another one of her friends. This was starting to fester in Tori's heart. 'Doesn't she see the damage she's done? Everything Jade touched is turning to dust.'

By the time they reached Sikowitz's class, Tori was practically hanging onto Beck. While Tori was making as big a show as possible of her apparent affections, Beck was now contributing to her actions. He'd hold and comfort her, keeping her attention on him and away from the others. Not blind to Tori's actions, he'd decided to protect his remaining friends from Tori's cold shoulder. The singer had been passively hostile to Andre all day, and Beck was trying to comfort her so she'd forgive one of his best friends. "Tori, relax. Lets just enjoy the rest of the day." He'd told her. "Lets not even mention you know who. Okay?"

Sikowitz, back from filming his roll in that movie, burst into the classroom through the second door, the one near the back of the room. This day, he seemed to be focused, all business. "Okay, class, today were going to start working on a new project. Jade I need you to..." He stopped and looked around the room, for the first time noticing one of his students was missing. "Where's Jade?"

"She got suspended for giving Scotty Peirson a concussion." Tori immediately said. The rest of the class had gone quiet at the mention of her name.

"Oh, well, this changes things. I was going to have her write something for us. Something to use for our own made for school project." Sikowitz said. "I was going to show you how acting for movies is different from acting for a live audience."

"We already know. We have film classes." Beck said.

"I know. But I wanted to go over how all the background you have to create helps you remember what your doing. It's important, given that you usually don't film the scenes in order. This will help you to understand the whole experience, so you can give a consistent performance." The coconut lover said. "It also helps you remember your motivation, and the choices you've made on how to play the character."

"And Jade was going to do what?" Andre asked. Tori glared at him sideways for mentioning that name.

"She always has something she's written up her sleeve. I was going to try and adapt one of her plays for a short film, and we could do the whole thing as a project. Go over what we need to do with each character and each scene." The teacher said. "Wouldn't even need to actually film it. Then again, that way you could see the completed project. Maybe compare how different people played the same character." The teacher was redefining the assignment before their eyes.

"How about we do parts of Amanda Rothschild's book, 'The Lost Seconds'?" Beck suggested. "It's got a nice selection of characters, and we could film it as a project. As long as no one makes any money off it, that should be legal, right?"

"I suppose, but I'll ask Helen to contact the proper authorities, get us permission. Beck, I'll need a copy of the book by tomorrow. And someone tell me whats going on with Jade?" Sikowitz said. "On second thought, lets wait until after class." The quirky teacher then got on with his lecture for the day. Tori found it interesting, insightful, and couldn't remember a word of it fifteen minutes later.

After class, Andre was left to explain to their favorite teacher what was going on in the group. Tori didn't care to be a part of that explanation, so was one of the first to leave, dragging Beck with her. Yes, their teacher was also their friend, but Tori realized he was the one person who probably shouldn't take sides. Some part of Tori still wanted Sicowitz to remain fair, neutral. And if Tori was involved in the discussion, then he'd know what a whore Jade had been. 'Let him live in ignorance. It's probably for the best.'

Late Monday, Tori got her email, letting her know all the tests were negative. Tori didn't have any venereal diseases. She called Beck, to share her news and see what his said. He hadn't opened his yet. "Tori, I'm kinda worried. What if this is what ruins my life? Am I facing a long series of treatments? Or something that can't be treated? I-I just don't want to be alone when I open this. Can you come over?"

"Sure Beck. I'll get Trina to give me a ride. Maybe we can do some homework after. Just to keep things as normal as possible." She told him. Tori got a ride from Trina, and hurried over. Once she arrived, she went to his trailer and knocked, nervous for Beck. 'Stay positive. It's probably nothing.' she told herself. 'But the possibilities...'

"Tori, glad you're here. Wanna see how badly I fucked up my life?" Beck asked. He motioned for her to enter.

"Lets be positive. The odds are that you didn't catch anything permanent. So lets just hope, okay?" Tori said. 'Besides, you're as likely to have caught something from Jade as from those sluts.' she mentally added.

"Here we go." Beck said as he opened his email.

Negative. Beck was clean.

The email said he'd tested negative for all known strains of sexually transmitted diseases. "I guess I dodged a bullet this time." He said. "I wasn't looking forward to contacting those girls and letting them know I had, well, whatever I could have caught from them." He smiled at Tori. "Lets get some homework done."

"Sure." Tori said, pulling out her books. She sat next to him and they talked as he worked on his school work. It was a relief, but Tori felt this was only one of the problems brought on by Jade's actions. So Tori helped Beck write a quick summary of the characters from "The Lost Seconds." She reviled in how much Jade seemed to dislike like the constant mentioning of the author around school. They'd present it with a digital copy of the book, and hopefully save some time in adapting it for the stage.

By Tuesday, Robbie was starting to get frantic about Rex's disappearance, and Tori was watching with a dark sense of satisfaction at his discomfort. Normally Beck and Andre would help him look. Instead, still being exiled from that group, he had to get help from several shruggers. In the end, Lane wound up finding Rex while looking in one of his drawers for his stash of a special hand lotion he'd misplaced. The guidance counselor was miffed that someone chose to hide the puppet in his office. The first thing he did was check to see if Jade had been in his office, or anywhere near the school. She was the usual suspect for this kind of thing. But Jade, being suspended, hadn't come close to school. Lane then called her home to confirm she'd stayed away.

Once Lane was sure Jade wasn't involved, he returned the missing puppet to Robbie, and started an investigation into what happened. Robbie questioned Rex, but his cooler half didn't know who'd kidnapped him "This Time". Tori knew she'd done a good job covering her tracks, so she stayed calm and enjoyed the fruitless attempt at finding out what's happened. There just weren't enough clues to follow, so everyone would have to let it drop. Tori just sat with a dark smirk on her face as Robbie and Rex walked out of school that day. 'Serves you right for what you did.'

Sikowiz took on the job of adapting the play, and the extra work made him give the class his usual list of crazy acting exercises. He'd let them know he was proud of how far they'd come as a group, but the art of acting was always about learning and adapting. "Never get too comfortable in yourself, or the roles you play. Always stretch yourself. I know some of the things I've come up with in the past seem crazy. But that's just because you're getting to the point where I need to work to get you to stretch yourselves. I'm not done coming up with new ideas to help you get out of yourselves, but I'm not going to be the only one doing it. Once Jade gets back, I'll challenge her crazy imagination to come up with a few project." Sikowitz seemed excited by the prospects of whatever Jade would come up with. It annoyed Tori to no end to hear her favorite teacher praise Jade's dark imagination, even as Tori begrudgingly admitted Jade may be the best writer in her class.

By Thursday Tori was back to plotting something against Robbie. Cece had texted her, saying that Robbie was wonderful. From what Tori could piece together from the text, random things said, and her knowledge of both people, she'd put together a fair idea at what was going on. Her friend was happy with how easy the boy was to manipulate, while still being good looking enough to be seen in public with. The thought of Robbie being Cece's toy didn't make Tori happy. 'He's still my friend, despite being a double dealing perve who paid his friends girlfriend for sex.' Tori really didn't want the puppeteer to suffer. Unfortunately, he was the only target she had at the moment. Andre was off limits. The musician was trying to guess why Tori was so wazzed at him, and not coming close. Tori just reminded him that "You knew what you've done." So with no other acceptable targets, Tori planned to ruin Robbie's date with Cece.

Trina stopped her, confronting her recent attitude. "Tori, you've been in a bad mood all week. Care to tell me why?" The older sister asked.

"It's nothing. Robbie just doesn't seem to understand that what he did to Beck is wrong. Andre did the same thing, but I think he knows it. I'm just waiting for one of them to admit it, so I can forgive them." Tori said in a huff. 'They have to admit it first.' She reminded herself.

"And what did Andre do?" Trina asked.

"He fucked Jade." Tori screeched.

"He told you? That doesn't sound like him?" Trina asked, sounding shocked.

"He hasn't admitted to it yet, but he had to. How else do you explain him taking Jade's side?" Tori shot back.

Trina took a second to think before answering. "Or he's trying not to take sides until he knows whats going on. And if you think about it, he took Becks side. Everyone took Becks side." Trina said.

"But Andre, he..." Tori stuttered, There was something off about the whole thing.

"So anyone who even thinks that Jade might be innocent slept with her? Maybe she's hiding something big. Something she's so afraid of people finding out that she'd be willing to be thought of as a whore rather than have people know the truth?" Trina asked.

"Jade's not afraid of anything. Except maybe, people making fun of her. And she's getting that, in spades." Tori said. "So why would she put up with it if she wasn't guilty?"

"First, she's claimed her innocence. No one believes her. Then we have the whole 'Cannot visit' rule from her father, so she could be hiding some kind of family drama. Whatever is going on, you've reacted as badly as everyone else has, only more so. It's like your taking it personalty." Trina pointed out, sounding annoyed.

"I am. She ruined everything." Tori said. As Trina looked at her sister, eyebrow raised, Tori found she didn't know why Jade had ruined everything. "Oh, forget it."

"Um, Tori, just to be sure, your not the one tagging her locker, are you?" Trina asked as her sister was walking away. Tori pretended not to hear.

The conversation had only further infuriated Tori. However, she decided not to interfere with Cece's date. If nothing else, Cece was her friend. Maybe Robbie was what the girl needed right now, though even Tori could tell the relationship was doomed from the beginning. Cece was going to use Robbie for nice dates until she fell for the next jerk. It was all too common, Tori had even done it, just not with Robbie. There was always a nice guy to date when she felt desperate, but those weren't the kind of guy she liked. 'What was it about the dangerous once that draws girls in like honey.' Tori wondered.

Friday came, and with it the students at Hollywood Arts once again started looking for parties to attend over the weekend, angling for invitations or figuring out how to crash. Of course, the so called 'main people' at Hollywood arts never had to look to hard to find parties. They often received multiple invitations before the end of the school day. Parties from multiple schools vied to get some of the most talented of Hollywood Arts students to attend, mimicking how celebrities are often on all the guest lists of the affluent in LA. And Tori, wishing to reinforce the image of her and Beck as an item, decided to hit a couple of parties with him. 'Trina's sharp. She'll suspect if we don't hit the party scene together.' She realized. But at the same time, Tori was starting to think that maybe they needed to figure out just what they were going to do about Jade. 'By now, Jade's aware of my "Relationship" with Beck. She's got to know by now.' Tori had thought about trying to hide it, and about sending Jade pictures. 'Maybe of me in bed with Beck, just so she knows he's moved on.' Tori decided she'd deal with the whole Jade think after she had a chance to step back and let go. 'Who, maybe I am taking this whole thing a bit too personally.' Tori thought. 'I hate it when Trina's right.'

Over the week Sikowitz had worked at breakneck speeds, and had almost finished the adaptation. So now it was time for him to get the class ready. "Okay children, I need to stress that this project, unlike a traditional movie, will have different actors playing the characters from scene to scene. I want each actor to make their character their own. Find your interpretation of who that person is, really find their emotional core. This way, you'll be able to see how each character is different based on the choices the actors made, despite having the same lines and the same actions taking place around you. I suspect each movie, each scene, will be very different. I look forward to seeing the finished product." The acting teacher told them.

"I've also managed to look at the sheer size of this project, and have decided to break you into two groups of six, with three boys and three girls per unit." Sikowitz continued. "There is no way I'd be able to handle all the filming on my own. So each group will have one student acting as director as well as acting in the project. Beck, you'll head one group, while Jade will take the reins on the other when she gets back. Okay, break into your groups." The core group of friends rushed to be on the same team, leaving Jade mostly shruggers. Tori talked Beck into taking Robbie, partially so she could have more time to question him, but also because as much as they hated to admit it, Robbie was one of the better actors in the class.

After divvying up the roles and agreeing to take Robbie in, they found that the class, and with it the school day, was coming to an end. Tori found that she didn't want to think about Jade, who'd dominated Sikowitz's class without even being their, and instead focus on the weekend. It was Friday, time to party. She was going to be seen by everyone on the arms of the handsome Canadian. By the time Monday came, she knew it would be a whole different story. Maybe she'd meet someone, or maybe Beck would. 'No matter what, tonight I help him get over Jade.' Tori thought with a grim sense of determination.

:}

I know, lets of filler. But I needed to set up what is about to happen. Lets just say that Tori is building a house of cards, fueled by her feelings. Beck's had a chance to reflect. And Jade, she's been gone all week, and yet has been one of the dominant things on Tori's mind. Kinda funny how that works.

So, next chapter, things come to a head. I'm hoping that I get the original, perky, forgiving Tori back after this. Anyone care to guess whats gonna happen? Also, poor Robbie. He's the target of opportunity for Tori. Glad she only did that one thing to him. So, comments, guesses, or just complaints since I used four thousand words to get through the week. Let me know.


	7. Chapter 7 Hitting bottom

Disclaimer: Don't own victorious or it's characters. I make no money off this. Don't sue.

Warning. In this story, and especially in this chapter, Tori and Beck have been going through different difficult emotional experiences. They feel betrayed by Jade, for different reasons, on a deep level. As a result, they've both been acting out of character. Don't worry, things are about to hit rock bottom.

:}

Tori had taken Beck out to a party to help him relax. She wanted to get Beck past Jade by talking about all the fun things in life. Problem was, she couldn't. At the various parties, people were asking her and her friends where Jade was. Jade had been a regular at the weekend parties, just like Beck, and the rest of the gang. Naturally people wanted to check in on Beck, and see how he was doing. That bought up Jade. Still other people were just looking for her. It seemed that Jade hadn't shown up to any of the Friday parties. People wanted to know if he'd seen her.

Everyone knew Jade, they knew she could find a party, and she wasn't the type to let a little thing like not being invited keep her from at least making an appearance at one if she wanted to. No, the girl wasn't bothering to show up. People, being people, were nosy. Casual questions became an avalanche of inquiries. Then some people started asking around, trying to figure out where the scary goth was. As the party continued, rumor began to fly. No one knew where the Jade was. No one had seen her.

Text messages raced across LA, only to be answered with more questions. Jade wasn't at any party attended by anyone who knew what she looked like. Then the rumors started growing, tinged by facts. It seemed that no one remembered seeing Jade last weekended either. Not at a single party. No one seemed to have seen the goth since the day she was suspended.

Tori found herself getting worried, but didn't know why. 'Okay, Jade's grounded. Yea, thats it.' Tori thought. 'Except she's not afraid of breaking the rules. She'd sneak out in a heartbeat. Hell, she'd walk out the front door. If she wanted to party, she'd be at a party.' An eerie dread settled on the singer. It was like the goth had disappeared.

It didn't take long for Beck take Tori aside. "This isn't normal." Beck told her. He'd been drinking, just enough to show. "Jade doesn't just stay at home, no matter whats going on in her life. She's probably making extra money, or maybe she's in jail. I don't know whats happening with her any more."

Hearing the growing sadness in Beck's voice, Tori tried to get him to focus on having fun. :"Beck, Jade's a grown girl. She can take care of herself. She's probably at a college party. Why don't we dance, have a drink, just let go and have some fun. We can't let her ruin our evening." Tori gave him her Bambi eyes. It seemed to work. For a time.

By midnight, Beck was hammered. But Tori didn't know anyone at this party well enough to trust them wit her safety. Tori had gone to a party beck wanted to go to, filled with Northridge girls, and with them were Northridge boys. Beck's friends. Tori didn't have her normal backup. Trina, who wasn't particularly liked by most of Beck's friends, had gone to a different party. Without her automatic safety net, Tori knew she'd have to be twice as careful, so she'd hardly touched any alcohol. 'At least Trina's with people we trust.' Tori thought. But the problem remained, Tori only trusted beck, and he'd been drinking heavily. That made her the one responsible for getting them home safely. Tori tried to get beck to head to his car. Only, he didn't want to go home.

"We need to find Jade. Make sure she's all right." He blurted, almost out of nowhere.

"What?" Tori had heard, but couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Jade's tough, but those streets, they're tougher. I was talking to some guys from Nothridge, and they were telling me how bad it can be for someone working the streets. Jade could be hurt, or worse, and we have to find her." Beck was saying. Tori didn't remember that conversation, but she'd spent a fair amount of time in sight of Beck while checking up on the rumors. To her mind, she'd done her duty, made sure jade wasn't there. His insisting on looking for her was annoying her.

"You broke up." Tori reminded him.

"That doesn't mean I don't still care about her. Maybe we can never be together, but she's still my first real love. I can-Can't just leave her out there." Beck sounded resolute, almost sad, but his legs were barely working and Tori had to get him home.

"Beck, we'll look in the morning, okay?" Tori said.

"Stay with me?" Beck said, again out of the blue. "I'm afraid." He seemed to just go quiet, his body shaking as he held back tears. Tori found herself supporting too much of his weight for her comfort. She didn't want people seeing her supporting him.

"Beck?" Tori asked.

"I'm afraid I'll never see her again. I need for her to know I'm sorry." Beck was crying, the internal struggle to hold back lost to his drunken emotions.

Tori had to ignore Beck's continued babbling and focus, using all her strength and acting skills to appear casual while trying to get him into his car. However, on rout, she realized that she couldn't drive them home. She didn't have her license, and while she hadn't done much drinking, she just wasn't that good a driver yet. 'You'd think I would catch on quickly, like I do almost everything else.' She chided herself. Tori knew she needed help. Especially since she didn't trust any of the people at this party nearly enough to let them know her date was so far out of it. So breaking down, she did what she had to do, what she knew was the only thing she could do to get help without risking alerting potential predators. Breaking one of the oldest yet least useful codes of the teen world, Tori called Beck's parents.

Within minutes, Beck's parents came to pick him up as well as deliver his car back home. They'd have dropped Tori off, either along the way or after getting him into bed, but Beck keep begging them to let her stay. Finally, his father agreed and left them to do whatever after making sure Tori had protection. By then, the singer was beyond being able to be embarrassed.

Tori wasn't going to be embarrassed because she'd been too busy thinking. The whole time Tori waited, and during the drive, she was consumed by one thought. 'He's still hung up on Jade. Even now, he's obsessed with her, begging to have someone tell him where she was, that she's safe. Begging! Of course she's safe. That girl could kill a rhino.' The whole situation was driving Tori almost insane.

Once Beck's parents were gone, Tori walked into his trailer with evil intent. 'I'm going to make sure he doesn't go back to her. I have to. Jade's too chaotic, too unstable. She'll only bring him misery and heartbreak. She'll hurt Beck and anyone who even tries to love her. It's... It's just who she is. It's a sacrifice, but I'll show him. I'll show Beck who his real friends are.' Tori worked herself up as she pulled out the roll of condoms. The roll Trina made sure she always had. 'I'll show him just how far his friends, his real friends, will go.'

"Beck? You awake?" Tori asked tentatively.

"Yea, kinda. Why?' He replied from his place on his bed.

"I was thinking, you're not safe to be alone, but if I stay the night, something might happen." Tori said. 'I'm not going to force anything, but if it happens, it happens.' She told herself, trying to convince herself that this wasn't deliberate. 'If it happens, it happens.'

"Your a good friend, Tori." He replied, his voice slurring. Beck was drunk, feeling alone and consumed by worry. It didn't take much to start. Tori sat on the bed and took his hand. She rubbed her thumb over his hand as they sat, looking at each other. She cuddled a little, letting him know she was there, while also rubbing herself against him. Subtle, and not so subtle, signals went out, telling the drunken boy she was willing. They kissed, and Tori rolled from her sitting position onto her back, pulling the handsome boy on top of her. Tori just let Beck do whatever from there. He deepened the kiss, and his hands started to roam. Tori moaned, giving encouragement but not directing. Soon his hands were on her breasts, then when he didn't get any signals to stop, he escalated to removing cloths.

Tori watched, almost detached, as her cloths went flying towards the couch. His just found their way to the bottom of the bed, as he got ready with a practiced precision that should have worried her. 'He's used to getting undressed while drunk.' Then, once naked, she had to work to get him to hesitate, just for a moment, so she could get the condom on him. She's thought about not using it, but liked him too much to risk a child at that stage. 'Best not to complicate this.' She'd thought.

The sex was almost too mechanical. Everything Tori did to try and make it memorable was wasted on Beck's drunken need to just finish and get some sleep. Tori would have to give him some credit, he did know his way around a girls body. But despite whatever training Jade might have given Beck, it was over far too soon. Beck rolled onto his back and Tori rode him, and once he popped, he was only marginally aware of trying to use his hand to help her get off. It was like muscle memory. Beck was asleep by the time she got off.

Tori looked at the clock. It was after two am, and she was lying awake in Becks arms, thinking she'd finally lost her mind. 'The sex wasn't that bad. Even drunk, he'd cared about me, made sure my needs were met. It's just... He wasn't really there.' Tori thought. 'Becks a good guy. I know that. But right now, I think, I'm sure, he wasn't with me. He was with Jade, in his head, he was with Jade. Not sure who he was with in his heart. I mean, that was almost disappointing..." It felt like Beck was going through the motions, even with her surrogate. Tori found herself softly crying.

By morning Tori was ready to go home. She only stayed so Beck wouldn't wake up alone. She needed to talk to him, let him know that she'd made a mistake. She didn't know why she'd slept with him, and now she wanted to save their friendship.

"Morning." He said.

"Morning." She replied.

"So, I take it you want to talk?" He opened. His body stretched, and for the first time in memory, that did nothing for her.

"About last night. I... I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I think I fucked up." She said.

"Big time." He replied. There was no humor in his voice. He sat up to give her his full attention.

"I..." she started. "I though I was helping. You certainly were into it." She didn't know why she was going on the offensive, but she was.

"I was drunk! You know I don't make good decisions when I'm drunk. Or angry, or just being stupid." His anger dwindled with each statement, until his voice was soft, quiet, but still above a whisper.

"Beck, look.." Tori tried again.

"Tori, I probably wanted this. At one time, I'm sure of it." He hesitated, gathering his thoughts. "But not last night. I know you probably gave me an out, but hey, by then, all I could think of was how good you looked, and how being with you might make it all right." Beck wasn't looking at her. His window had his full attention now.

"I'm sorry." Tori wasn't sure where they were, just that this was uncomfortable. She felt like maybe, she'd taken advantage of him.

"You know why I was drunk?" He asked. It was almost out of left feild. His voice was straining, like he was trying to hold back the hurt.

"Jade hurt you. I know, it must be so hard to get over the fact that she cheated on you. I'm here if you need me." Tori said. She was unaware how close to him she'd drifted.

"So I was a mercy fuck?" His voice was finding new life, malice dripping from the statement. His eyes found hers, brown on brown, daring her to deny it. Tori took a moment to think about it. She wanted to say it was to keep him from falling back into old habits, but that sounded petty.

"I was worried that you'd go running back to Jade. I know she's what you know, where you used to be comfortable. Trust me, I know how it feels to want to go running back to a relationship, even one that's bad for me. Beck.." Tori voice was cut off.

"I can't go back. I burned that bridge!" He snapped, then started pacing. Tori had no idea how he was standing so quickly, or how he'd gotten his shorts on. "Jade probably won't talk to me unless we have a class assignment together, and she still might just fail instead." There was so much hatred in his voice. It confused Tori.

"I know she can hold a grudge, but I'm sure she'll thank you, once she sees that..." Tori didn't get to finish.

"You mean, once she sees how I did it to help. I didn't, you know." His anger was still ripe, eyes once again digging into Tori's. "I did it to hurt her. Like I felt she'd hurt me. It wasn't until I realized no knew where she was, or had heard from her, that I even thought there might be consequences."

"Beck.." Tori started.

"Not her revenge, I'm talking about her being suspended, her being out there, without support, no one to look out for her. Everyone knows she's a whore, but what if I'm wrong?" His voice wavered, just for a second. "What if she'd tutoring, or maybe she's someone's mistress. Her mother was. That's how she was conceived." Beck was now sitting on his couch, staring at the floor as if it somehow had the answers he needed..

"You're still worried about her?" Tori asked, more curious then anything else.

"I didn't stop caring about her. I just let my hurt tell me what to do. That's why I was drinking. I.." He looked at Tori, and his eyes were filling with tears. "I told her secrets. Things she'd trusted me with, and I told everyone. I-I can't imagining how much that had to hurt." He was crying now, body shaking as the emotion overcame him. Tori moved across the room and put her arms around him, holding him until he stopped crying.

"Tori." He asked, still lost in his tears. "What am I? What kind of monster have I become? I hurt her, and I never gave her a chance to explain."

"Yes you did, but she kept saying it wasn't her shirt. I know it was, I got Robbie to admit that much, but he swears he thought it was his sisters shirt when he took the picture. Maybe...Maybe" Tori was lost.

"Maybe she really needed the money. I mean, we all take so much for granted. Jade was proud. She didn't want people to know she was so poor." He was holding onto Tori, and she could feel that there was nothing sexual between them any more. This was an act of friendship, and she had to do a lot more to make up for taking advantage of him the night before. "Maybe she felt this was the only way? Or maybe she has a sugar daddy, and he made her do it?" Beck continued like that for a few more conjectures, then fell silent.

After another half hour, Beck had stopped crying, and was just allowing himself to be held by Tori.

"Tori?" He asked.

"Yes?" She replied.

"I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I can't do this any more. The whole dating thing. I still want to be friends, if we can, but I can't be around you. Not like this." He sounded broken.

"I-I understand." Tori felt like shit. She'd hurt him. She had hoped to help, but now she felt dirty. "We're gonna be all right, right?" She asked.

"Maybe. In time. For now, I need distance. I'm sorry. I know you were trying to help." He said. He was trying to be strong, not to cry, but there was a lot of hurt in his voice, and his eyes.

"Okay. I guess I'll be seeing you." She got up and headed to his door. She paused in the doorway and looked back. Beck was still there, wearing only his boxers, sitting on his couch, looking broken. "If..." she started. "If there's ever anything I can do for you..." She let it drop. She pushed open the door and stepped out.

"Jade." Came from the trailer. "Find out if she's okay. I think I need to know, and I'm afraid of what I'll find if I look." he was on the verge of tears again.

"Okay" Tori said, and walked away from Becks home as fast as she could. A phone call later and her sister was on the way to pick her up. However, for the short time she was walking, Tori knew why it was called the walk of shame. Maybe she'd intended to be with Beck last night, but she was feeling the shame now. She'd used Beck, and got nothing out of it. Now she had to figure out how to live with herself, and find her way back to being the happy, perky girl everyone knew and loved. Tori didn't know if that girl still lived or not, but she had a lot of soul searching to do.

"What happened?" Trina's voice cut through the late morning air. The sound of her sisters voice startled the singer. Tori had been deep in thought, but wasn't really thinking about anything beyond how she'd screwed things up.

"I fucked up. I saw Beck weaken, thinking of going back to her, so I slept with him." Tori said, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

"So either he hates you, or wants you to be his fuck buddy. Which is it?" Trina said. Tori could tell her sister was serious.

"He says hell forgive me, but he needs time. God I screwed everything up." Tori finally cried. It was eating away at her all day. Tori allowed herself to cry the entire drive home. Once there, Trina helped her walk to her room. Trina wasn't too happy about something, but Tori was lost in her own pain, and her sister gave her some time to recover before laying into her. After she got changed into her pajamas, the cloths Trina set out for her, Tori was given some water, cereal, and an invitation to go back to bed.

"Tori, I know this hurts. I just need to know the specifics. Are you upset because Beck didn't want you? Or is there something else?" Trina tried not to sound bitchy.

"I don't know." Tori said, her voice shaking. "I screwed up a friendship, and I don't even know why."

"Okay. Lets look at the pieces. How was the sex?" Trina asked.

"He was drunk, so not so good. Used protection, but that's about the only good news." Tori said. "He tried, and he gave me a hand job to finish me off, but he was gone before I got off."

"How rude!" Trina replied.

"More like trained. I think that's how it was with Jade." Tori said.

"No wonder she went looking for something else. Someone who could appreciate her." Trina said, smiling.

"Trina!" Tori snapped at her sister. "Prostitution is nothing to joke about. Those girls get hurt, even killed. No one really cares about them, and the life is often hollow. We should be trying to help them escape from that life." Tori almost recited one of the speeches her father had given them about his work.

"My oh my, look who's defending Jade now. Did YOU sleep with her?" Trina joked. Tori couldn't answer, guilt at shagging Jade's ex still eating away at her stomach. "You know what? Maybe you should get some rest. Major par-tay tonight." Trina smiled, and Tori was left with her thoughts.

It was a few hours later when Tori finally made up her mind. Maybe Jade would be at school on Monday, but if she waited, and someone had taken the girl, then it would be another day before anyone could do anything to help. Tori had kinda promised Beck she'd look for Jade. 'I have to do this now. It's time I did something right.' Tori sent a text.

Sinjin (From Tori) - I need Robbie's home address. And Jade's. Asap, and on the down low. Thanks.

Tori had added Jade as an after thought. If Robbie was lying, then going to his home would prove that, but not how he'd gotten the shirt in the first place. Tori sent the text with a strange dread building in her heart. She was scared that she'd find out that Jade was sleeping with someone for money, and at the same time she was terrified that Jade might be innocent. 'If she's innocent, what kind of person does that make me?' She wondered. To keep her mind busy, she thought of what Sinjin would want. The boy always wanted something for his help, and it could be money, or a date, or something totally off the wall. She wished her sister hadn't taught the boy how to jump rope, because Tori could totally teach him that.

So Tori lay there in her bed, waiting for the reply. 'He's going to want something, but lets keep this simple. I know of a couple of parties he might want to go to. Maybe he'll take the same deal as Robbie, and introduction to one of my friends in return for his help?' Tori was trying to figure out who to introduce the geeky guy to when she got a text back, some twenty minutes later. It felt like longer.

Tori (From Sinjin) – Emailing you the address. You can Pearmap it later. Funny thing is, according to school records, Robbie and Jade live at the same address.

} 

So, that was it. My big Bori moment. I feel I was as true to the moment as I could be. Beck got used, and Tori feels guilty. Of course, both of them have things to live down now, and both have gone about as far down as they can. Beck's seen how he struck back at jade, while Tori still doesn't know why, just that she went too far. And oh yea, I gave you something at the very end.

So review. I like all opinions. Guess why Jade's living in the same house as Robbie, or maybe it's just the address used to get her and her brother in to a better school. I'm sure you have your guesses, and I'm not telling which one is right.

Happy reading.


	8. Chapter 8 the first secret reveealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or any of it's characters.

Warning: Some o the characters are going through an emotional crisis, for lack of a better term, and thus may be out of character.

:}

"Trina!" She shouted, sitting up in bed. This was something. 'Jade and Robbie living together?'

Sinjin (From Tori) – Are you sure?

Tori (From Sinjin) - Yes. Every student needs a home address, not just a mailing address, and Robbie's current address is the same as Jade's.

"What? Are you hurt? Did Jade find out you shtupped her ex and put some kind of voodoo curse on you?" Trina asked as she ran into Tori's room. There was genuine concern on the older sisters face, despite her jokes.

"Jade lives with Robbie. As in the same address. Sinjin got it from confidential school records." Tori said, sounding excited. 'Not sure what this means, but it has to mean something.' She thought.

"So, it's not the first time I've heard about this. Two families of limited means find a house, and rent it together. Saves money, but you live with the other family. It happens." Trina said.

"But why would Jade hide this?" Tori asked.

"Wouldn't you?" Trina replied.

"Not in the face of, Well, I mean, Robbie's not that bad, right?" Tori said.

"Not that bad, and you couldn't even hypothetically live in the same house as him?" Trina asked.

"So what do we do?" Tori asked. A new wave of guilt was building, thinking of how she'd so happily participated in shaming Jade when there was a possibly legitimate reason for everything.

"Call Cat, see if she want's to visit Robbie. We pretend that's our reason, and we don't know Jade lives there. Simple enough." Trina said.

Tori called the ditzy girl, and they made arrangements to go visit Robbie on Monday after school. It would give them time to come up with an excuse on how they knew where he lived. Tori was also trying to think of how she was going to handle the whole Beck thing. 'I'll wait until I'm sure there's no hanky panky going on, then I'll tell him. He's broken up enough about this.'

It would also give them a chance to see how Jade was doing. Tori was worried that Jade might be out for blood. Having slept with her ex, Tori was one of the prime targets for revenge from the goth, a girl who had made her entire reputation based on the simple philosophy, "You'll regret fucking with me."

Tori decided to go to a party that night, just to get the whole fucked up situation off her mind. Beck was upset that she took advantage of him, and she could understand that. As long as she was sober, she understood how Beck felt. And not just the feeling of being used by a friend. She now understood his apparent weakening, coming out of his long held anger, like waking up from a long drunk, and starting to regret what he'd said and done. Beck was worrying about Jade. Tori had promised to check up on her, but wasn't planning to do anything until after school Monday. Unfortunately, if she waited, it might as well be the same as if Beck didn't ask her. Tori was sure she wasn't going to look for Jade until she was sure she'd be safe, but that required seeing the goths reactions first. That required Monday.

Tori drank. It was safer than being sober. The alcohol took the pain, and her restraints away. Tori was breaking her own rule, and got lucky that chose Trina stay next to her all night. As Tori drank, she started trying to process things she thought she'd already understood.

"How does any boy feel bad after getting some of this?" She asked, gesturing down her body. Trina moved a step closer, protecting Tori from the boys around her. Boys who were monitoring how much she'd had to drink. Boys who were more than happy to get her more. Tori complained about everything, about Beck, as she got hammered. And the boys were only too happy to listen.

"Okay, he was hurting, and I cheered him up. I fucked him good, and all he can think about is that harpy of an ex girlfriend of his. I mean, I know I'm better. Maybe not hotter. I mean, she has great boobs. Love her curves. I'm not saying she's not hot. Bitch is hot. I'm saying she's a total gank. And a whore. Or maybe not, I'm kinda confused now. Just..." Tori was cut off by Trina's hand over her mouth.

"We should probably think about what we say, for the time being." Trina whispered in her ear. Tori shifted to pull herself free and spoke.

"I know what I'm doing. I just want to vent. Talk to my new friends about whats wrong with boys." Tori said, gesturing to the small crowd of boys around them.

"You're done. Time to go home." Trina said, cutting off any protests Tori might have. "Tori, I'm gonna take charge of checking in on Jade. You just rest, get your head straight." Trina said as she practically carried Tori to her car.

She had seen Andre earlier, so looked around until their eyes met. Trina gestured with her head, and being the great friend he was, the musician made his way over to where she was pulling Tori towards the door. He helped move the Latina out of the house while Sinjin, who'd also been there, watched from the sidelines. Trina addressed them both as she strapped her sister into the car. "Andre, spread the word, Tori is off limits to anyone until we get this straightened out. Sinjin, make sure they know. Come Monday, there's going to be hell to pay, so everyone should be on their best behavior." She'd left a lot unsaid, but both boys seemed to understand.

A threat from Trina would normally be ignored, but for some reason, that night it was spread like wildfire. By the time Trina finished getting Tori cleaned up and in bed, slap updates were confirming Trina's warning had spread. Trina looked at the clock. It was barely midnight. Early for a Saturday, but considering how much Tori was drinking, probably later then they should have been out. She sent a text to her parents, letting them know that their daughters were home safely, then sent a text to Robbie.

Robbie (From Trina) – How is Jade? I know you know.

Trina then settled in Tori's room. The younger sister was lying on her side, but for the first couple of hours, Trina wanted to watch. If the girl got sick, it would be better for everyone if she was there. Trina brought her computer, and watched some stuff off Hulu. By two in the morning, she was done with her movie, as well as waiting for Robbie to respond to her text.

Robbie CC Rex (From Trina) – I expect an update on Jade's condition by the time I wake up on Sunday. If I don't get it, you can explain your (&amp;Jades) living situation to me.

Running out of characters, Trina debated sending another, but decided to wait. She could call Robbie tomorrow and get as much as the nerdy boy was willing to share. It was only a matter of time before she had whatever information she needed.

Sunday morning Trina woke up on the floor of Tori's room. The younger sister had woken up, took some aspirin and some water, and went back to sleep. Trina checked on her, then on their parents, then went down to get some breakfast. As Trina was eating her cereal, she opened her phone and checked her messages. She had several, but two stood out. One from Robbie, and one from Rex. She read Rex's first, since the puppet had responded first.

Trina (From Rex) – Jade's fine. Just grounded. Nothing to see, nothing to know. She's been keeping busy, and she's fine. Now leave us alone.

Robbie's was a little different.

Trina (From Robbie) – I think Jade's been hurting herself. Never let anyone know I told you this, she doesn't know I know &amp; she'll kill me if she finds out I told.

Trina read the last text over and over. This was worse than she expected. She'd heard Jade say, on occasion, that the goth liked to punish herself, but never imagined it was this bad. Of course, her training said once they start with the self harm, psychologically it's the same if they cut themselves or they run in freezing cold wearing only shorts and a tank top. The goal is to punish themselves, hurting themselves to ease psychological pain with physical pain. Jade wore ugly uncomfortable shoes, a symptom, and a gateway for deeper self mutilations. (Yes, that what it's called, even if there's no scaring.)

'The good news is, Jade's alive.' Trina thought. 'I just hope she doesn't take it out on Tori.' Trina finished her breakfast, and started washing her dishes. Then she called Cat.

"Hiiiiiiiiiii." Cat answered the phone.

"Cat, tomorrow at school, try and calm Jade down. There's going to be trouble, and I'd like to keep it to a minimum. Please, whatever you can do, just help Jade relax, keep her from blowing up." Trina knew this was a long shot, but Cat was the best chance. Cat could do it, if she remembered to. Of course, Cat might still be angry at Jade, but the ditzy girl was Trina's best shot.

"KK" Cat said. "How's Tori? They say on the slap that She and Beck broke up, then had breakup sex. I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds dirty. I mean, is it a requirement? I hope it's not, cause it would make it awkward to date some guy if I knew we'd have to do" hushed tones "that" back to normal "if we broke up."

"CAT!" Trina wasn't going to have this conversation. "Just write down that your going to spend time with Jade, and calm her down."

"Wait, am I still mad at her?" Cat asked.

"Not anymore. I'll explain later, but now your trying to help her calm down." Trina said.

"KK" Cat replied.

"Did you write it down?" Trina asked.

"Write what down?" Cat replied.

"Can I speak to your roommate?" Trina tried

"Sam's still asleep. Can I take a message?" Cat said.

"See me first thing Monday." Trina said.

"KK" came the reply.

Trina was exhausted. She had to believe this was intentional. Cat couldn't be that stupid, not naturally. Either she was suffering from some kind of condition that caused her to get dumber, or she was retreating from the real world. Either way, Trina worried about her. Maybe later, she'd try and help, but for now, she had other fires to put out.

Trina found herself going over how the members of Tori's social group were doing. Jade was hurting herself. Tori was hurting. Beck was hurting. She briefly though about stomping on Andre's foot, but decided she didn't need the whole group to match. Monday, she'd talk to Robbie, find out what she could about Jade supposedly hurting herself.

Trina decided she'd take care of as much prep work as she could before Tori got up. Trina still needed to see where Robbie lived and get directions, so they could drive over after school. 'I suspect he'd notice if we followed him.' she joked to herself as she Fed the address Sinjin had sent Tori into Pearmaps. The first image she got was the usual map like image, but it didn't give any details, so she switched to satellite view. The satellite images showed a nice home, a mansion really, while the address warned it was in a gated community. One of the most secure gated communities in the Hollywood hills. After spending a few minutes admiring the size of the house, Trina called Andre.

"Yo, Trina, whats up? Tori okay?" Andre asked. Trina guessed he'd gone home last night after telling people to stay away from Tori. He certainly was awake and alert right now.

"She's fine, but I need something from you. Tori said you're uncle is into real estate, right? I was wondering if there were any houses to look at in the Palace Royal community in the Hollywood Hills?" Trina asked. Andre took a few moments to answer, probably looking the place up.

"Not sure that's a good idea. Whomever your stalking, I don't think you'd qualify to see any homes in that upscale type community. It's practically Bel Air. Maybe you could try mailing yourself?" Andre said. He laughed at his own joke, and Trina briefly reconsidered stomping on his foot.

"I think that's where Jade said she was living. If she's telling the truth, that she's living in a multimillion dollar home, then I couldn't fathom why she never admitted it. That is, unless she's somehow embarrassed about how. Tori and I need to check, confirm she's there, but according to the community's websight, it's one of the most secure gated communities in California." Trina said. "I just want to check things out, you know, discretely. So, can you call your uncle and see if he can find us a house to look at?"

"Why would Jade be embarrassed to be living in that community? It's like the chiz. I heard Kenan Thompson moved there to avoid that stupid guy in the panda costume." Andre said.

"I can't explain right now. Not before I check things out. So will you call your uncle or not?" Trina replied.

"I'll give him a call, but don't hold your breath. The odds are against it." Andre said. "I think they pre-screen potential buyers."

"Just let me talk to him." Trina said. Andre agreed.

By the time Tori made her way down stairs, Trina was well on her way planning how they were going to get into the gated community where Robbie lived to confirm that Jade lived with him. There were a lot of questions that needed answers now. Why was Jade living in the same house as Robbie? Why, if they lived in such a nice house, was Jade avoiding talking about it? Robbie didn't have that much money, did he? He did once buy a $400 bike at school, for cash, but he also spent a month without a phone because he refused to pay for it. Trina was trying to work out how to get her answers without directly asking Robbie about it, since she did hint she'd let it go if he told her about Jade.

Tori spent her Sunday finishing her homework and recovering from the weekend. She was still feeling bad about how the whole Beck situation had ended, as well as how drunk she'd allowed herself to get. She'd broken her rule, getting hammered in a situation where she wasn't sure someone would be there to take care of her. While Trina would, it wasn't fair to her sister to place that kind of responsibility on her without asking first. Tori felt guilty for assuming, and ruining her sisters fun. Tori was almost drowning in guilt. But the mission Beck had given her was her lifeline. 'I'll fix everything by helping Beck. I figure out why Jade lied to us, and why she's living with Robbie.'

By the time they gathered for the family dinner, the only remaining vestige of the once loving Vega family events, Tori was feeling far better. She even talked to her mother about what was going on in school. Holly listened, as much as she ever did, but looked off in her own world. Tori, it seemed, could only reach one person at the table, and that was Trina.

The patriarch, David Vega, was talking to his eldest about collage. He was sure she could get into a decent program somewhere out of state, but would be far happier if she found herself going to a state collage on the far side of California. "Humboldt state university has a great reputation, and it's affordable." He told her. "And it's only six hundred or so miles away. You could drive there in a day." Trina wasn't happy about that.

"What kind of theater arts program does it have?" She'd asked.

"They have a good social work program, and one of the best forestry programs in the state." David said.

The conversation continued, with Tori watching her family try and convince Trina that the distance would do her family good. Tori didn't want her to go. Not that far. Trina was still her main lifeline at parties. Until she straightened out her life, she needed her sister near by. Maybe Trina could be self centered, but she was always there for Tori. The youngest Vega didn't want her sister to move over six hundred miles away for school. Also, she'd miss her sister.

After dinner, Trina and Tori talked. "Depending on your definition, Jade's okay. Rex swore she's fine, but I think he did so with scissors to his through." Trina said.

"What makes you say that?" Tori asked. Trina forwarded that text, letting her sister read Rex's words over several times. "Yea, it doesn't exactly sound like him. Maybe Jade stole his phone? If she lives there, I could see it. And why does she live at the same address as Robbie? Is it like an apartment or something?" Tori asked.

"From what I could see on Pearmaps, it's a mansion. A huge mansion." Trina said, smiling as she pulled out her phone. "Don't worry, I'm on top of this. Tomorrow after school, we pay them a visit. I can't grill Robbie for answers, I kinda promised I wouldn't, but you and Cat can. I think it's time we got past this charade and found out why Jade stopped bragging about a house this big." Trina said as she pulled up the Pearmaps photo of the house. Zooming in, the house was on at least an acre, and had a pool as well as a few other amenities. Tori figured there was something wrong if Jade wasn't bragging about that home. Normally, the goth would have posted pictures, including the front gate. It was the Jade thing to do to taunt the other students.

"Maybe her fathers the butler?" Tori asked. It was one possible explanation, but as far as anyone knew, Robbie's family didn't seem to have that kind of money either. "Maybe both families work for the owner?" Tori knew she was stretching. Despite all of the drama involved, Tori knew she owed Beck some news. She forwarded Rex's text to the Canadian, and turned her mind back to figuring out what was going on.

"Or maybe well find out tomorrow." Trina said. She knew that no one was going to tell them what was going on. They'd need to find out for themselves. Jade had endured ridicule to the point where she might be hurting herself. Robbie had fared better, but was still cut off from his friends. Trina suspected that the recent new attitude Robbie was showing was part of some master plan Jade had to extract revenge, but couldn't put the pieces together.

After dinner, the Vega sisters watched a movie before going to bed. Both felt they needed to calm their nerves. Tori chose a romantic comedy, while Trina made popcorn. The sisters laughed and enjoyed the story, knowing that despite all the false starts and miscommunications, the two main characters would find each other and fall in love. "I wish Amanda Rothschild would write a romantic comedy. She's so insightful, it would be dreamy." Trina said.

"Just marry her already." Tori moaned, but inside she was grateful for the company. 'Besides, I'll bet she really would writer a great romantic comedy.'

:}

There you have it, the eighth installment of this story. And while it mostly covered a few things, I think To added to the mystery. So thoughts? And don't worry, There are more hijinks awaiting our little crew once they get past school on Monday.

Review, it makes my day.


	9. Chapter 9 expecting repercussions

Disclaimer. I don't own Victorious, nor do I make any money off of this story.

Disclaimer 2: Some characters may act a bit out of Character.

:}

Monday Tori made her way into Hollywood Arts feeling a little nervous. Would Jade know what she'd done with Beck? Was it worth it? Tori didn't think so. She told herself, over and over, that her goal had been to help Beck. However, she'd know that sex with a drunk and remorseful Beck was unlikely to help him, and she did it anyways. She felt like crap for that, both for what she'd done to Beck, and what she'd done to Jade. She even suspected she herself came out of it hurting, but didn't feel she deserved sympathy.

On top of that, There was still something not right about the whole ordeal. Tori knew it, she knew her sister knew it, but no one seemed to know what was off about it. Tori did know she was probably making it worse. 'I just hope I can change that, soon.'

Tori was looking around, hoping that something she saw would help her clarify her thoughts and figure out what was bothering her, when she saw Jade. The goth was standing there, leaning against her locker, looking out across the open hall. Tori first instinct was to get out of any possible line of sight. She didn't want to be what Jade was looking for, because no matter how much she felt she deserved whatever happened, she had no intent of dying that day. She wasn't sure how much Jade knew, and was unwilling to find out. At least until Jade let her know, however painful that may end up being. So, using whatever cover she could find to avoid being seen, Tori moved from the doors to her locker.

As Tori was opening her locker, she glanced back, just to see if Jade had noticed her. For the briefest moment, she and the goth made eye contact. Jade was looking right at her! Or rather, had noticed her long enough to send a quick glare, then refocused on something else. Something more important. So much so that it was dominating Jade's attention to the point where Tori became a secondary thought. And Tori wanted, no needed to know what could have that kind of effect on the goth. Following Jade's vision, Tori saw Robbie talking to Cece. The thought 'What's Cece doing here?' briefly passed through her mind. As much as she wanted to go and ask, she decided not to. Moving into the line of Jade's focus wasn't high on her to do list. Not while the goth was preoccupied with something other then causing her pain.

Tori didn't have much time to think about what Cece was doing there as the bell rang and they started their day. Tori noticed that Jade was unnaturally quiet in the classes they shared, not talking unless answering a question. Things got more weird when, during lunch, Jade was missing. It was as if Jade had pulled herself out of society completely. Tori did notice during passing that Jade's locker was tagged again. The word "Whore" in bright red letters covered her locker and the scissors she adorned it with. Still, Jade didn't seem to notice.

Remembering that Trina had asked Cat to talk to Jade, Tori decided to ask the fluffy girl if she had. Tori reasoned that maybe, just maybe, she'd managed to somehow calm the semi-psychotic goth down. Maybe even going too far, getting Jade to be passive for a while. But when she did ask the smaller girl, she was told "I haven't spoken to her all day. It's like she's avoiding me. Do you think she's avoiding me?" Cat asked, almost offended.

For a second, the briefest of moments, Tori had to remind herself who she was dealing with. Then she tried to explain things to her perky friend. "Cat, we've been avoiding her for a couple of weeks. It's possible she's just giving us space. Maybe the constant shaming has gotten to her. I don't know." Tori said. "Just, I don't know. Give her space, and well figure everything out after school."

That explanation seemed to satisfy the happy girl, for the moment. "Kay kay. See you after school."

Tori smiled, but reflexively looked around to see if anyone had overheard them. 'Don't need anyone asking question.' she reminded herself. 'And why is Cece here? I thought this was a closed campous.'

During Sikowitz's class Jade continued to sit in the back and act like a shrugger. When Sikowitz told her about the assignment, she just shrugged and accepted her part. When the broke into groups, she barely spoke to hers. Instead, she just sat back and let them decide who would play what role. Since the assignment wanted each group to shift who played what role, and thus each role would be played at least twice to show contrasting styles, the shuggers had surprisingly little trouble handing out the parts. Each scene was quickly cast. Of course, even in a situation as adjustable as this one, there were a few arguments. But the shruggers were left to figure those out on their own. Jade just watched them make a few deals, bargaining for the scenes they wanted.

Of course, Jade shocked everyone when she didn't try for any major roles, accepting minor or supporting roles in every scene. It only caused one problem. Jade was playing the same role in a couple of scenes because it was the least desirable role, and Sikowitz didn't want anyone playing the same role twice. Tori watched as the crazy teacher forced them to switch Jade's role while the director simply sat and observed. Tori once again wondered what was going on. 'Well, it is Amanda Rothschild, and jade is the one person on earth who thinks her work is overrated. Or just doesn't like it. I've never been clear on why she doesn't read the lady's work. But since Jade's doesn't like the project, probably doesn't wanna be involved in it, then maybe thats why she doesn't care what role she gets. That group is gonna be so screwed.' Still, tori knew passive aggressive wasn't Jade's style. 'More like active aggressive.'

Finally, during study hall, Tori had her chance to get some answers. Robbie was in her study hall. Moving like a clumsy panther, Tori tried to get closer before she struck. Of course, being young and dating, they only saw her out of the corner of their eyes when she knocked over a couple of books. But that just emboldened Tori to take a more direct approach, motioning for them to follow her. It wasn't hard to get them to agree, after a very brief silent argument. Tori knew the real questioning would come once they were away from the other, studying students. No one likes messy conversations in study hall, especially the teacher, and Tori didn't want detention messing with her party schedule. But Cece was at school with Robbie, and Tori wanted to know why.

"Cece, what are you doing here? Not that I mind, but this is a closed campus." Tori asked as soon as they'd moved to a better place for the discussion.

"Her school had some kind of teachers meetings, so no school today for Cece. And since she was free, I kinda invited her to spend the day here. Don't worry, I got permission first. It's amazing what Dickers will do for you if you ask." Robbie answered. Cece smiled at her friend, but stayed quiet. It seemed a lot of people were staying quiet today.

"Can I speak to Cece alone?" Tori asked.

"Okey-dokey cowpokey." Robbie said. He then moved back towards the class, giving the friends some more privacy.

"So, Cece, I thought this wasn't serious. I can understand using him to get a tour of the school, but to quietly let him talk, it's not like you." Tori said. Her friend smiled while carefully looked around, almost as if she needed to make sure no one could possibly overhear them. Then Cece leaned in, taking a breath and checking, once again, that no one was within earshot. She seemed determined not to be overheard.

"Tori, it's not like that. I do want to see the school, but I last week I ran into the scariest girl I've ever met in my life. I mean, she glared and it felt like my blood was freezing. And you know what happened? She told me to make a choice. I could break it off with Robbie, or I could promise not to hurt him. She made it crystal clear that if I hurt him, she'd do far worse to me." Cece said in a low voice, while keeping the fakest smile Tori had seen in a while on her face.

"So why are you still with him?" Tori asked, a bit confused.

"If a hot girl is willing to threaten to chop me up with scissors and mail me across Europe, just to protect him, I figure there has to be something special about this boy. I'm just trying to figure it out." Cece said. "Besides, I think I love him."

"uh.." Tori couldn't find words. Robbie was a friend, and she cared about him, but she couldn't see a girl as hot as Cece falling for him. Tori herself had told Cece not to break Robbie heart, but didn't have much hope of the girl being too nice. Hot, self centered girls like her rarely were. But now Jade had threatened her, and she was convinced she'd found her diamond in the rough.

"I know it's kinda sudden, and we haven't fucked yet, but I figure once he gets over that ditzy munchkin ginger wanna-be, I'm in. Or rather he's in. And he's a virgin, so I can teach him right." Cece was sounding excited about this. Tori, for her part, was still a little confused.

"Okay, do whatever you want, but please don't cause too much damage among my friends. And Cat is one of my friends." Tori said, almost defeated.

"Her name's Cat?" The redhead asked.

"Yes, and she's sweet." Tori replied. Then she waved Robbie back over, and spoke to him. "Any reason Jade missed lunch? I mean, does she have a new social group yet?" Tori asked, feeling she needed to change the subject. Again, dangerous territory, but part of Tori wanted to know, just because she felt bad for Jade. Meanwhile Cece moved away, just in case the goth somehow knew when her name was spoken.

"She has to make up some in class activities. A couple of tests, and a performance or two. She'll be done by tomorrow. If you want to talk to her, she'll be here after school doing her makeup work." Robbie offered. He gave her a genuine smile.

"That's okay, I was just curious. So tell me, you and Cece got plans?" Tori asked. 'God, he's going to get whiplash from how quickly I've been changing the subject.' She chided herself. But the more she knew, the more likely she'd be able to fulfill her sisters plan, so she persevered.

"Yea, were going the house of a friend of his who lives in a fancy neighborhood, and using the amenities. It's a gated community with all kinds of stuff for the residents. I want to hit the spa, then sunbath, and then maybe we could go for a swim." Cece said. She was beaming as she answered.

"Okay, you do that." Tori said. After a few moments, she stopped and considered the date Robbie was taking Cece on. 'He's taking her to Palace Royal and lying about how he was getting in? That's pretty dedicated to keeping this whole living arrangement thing a secret.' She thought. Tori was going to let them go when she remembered something. While she'd planned on sneaking into the gated community to get her answers, she did owe it to Robbie to give him one chance to explain. "Oh, and Robbie, can I have a word with you, in private?"

"Again?" Cece whined.

"Allrighty." The puppet master said. Cece used that as her opportunity to wander over to a window that overlooked the big dance studio. She started swaying to some imaginary beat as she watched the dancers practice whatever they were studying. Praying Trina wasn't in that class, for Cece's sanity as well as her own, Tori turned her attention to Robbie.

"Okay, I can tell you like Cece, so I'll ask. Where's Rex." Tori started.

"They don't get along. She hates it when he tries to talk up his Northridge girls while we're on a date. So I talked to him and he agreed to give us some space." Robbie said.

"Okay, then lets get to the meat of the matter. According to school records, you live with Jade." Tori started.

"You can never bring that up!" Robbie whisper yelled. It was the first time since they started talking that he'd dropped his voice. "She will kill us both and bury us in a junkyard. Just forget you ever heard that."

"I was going to ask how that happened, but now I suspect you don't want to talk about it." Tori said.

"I do, actually, but no one can know. It's kinda a secret. And no one is supposed to find out." Robbie almost whined. "Tori, it's been like this ever since we moved in together. Too many secrets, and it's tearing us apart. Jade's hurting herself, my sisters freaking out, and Jade's brother... Actually I think he's the only one okay with the whole thing. Just, uh, never mention it to anyone. Please, you have no idea how big a problem this is. I don't even know, and I'm part of the conspiracy."

Tori was taken aback by Robbie's sincerity. It was almost enough to cause her to change plans. Almost. Tori was thinking about it for the rest of the day, as she contemplated telling Trina and Cat that it wasn't their business. It sounded like neither would be home, and she wasn't sure what they'd accomplish anyways. Guilt was still eating away at her for the damage she'd already done, and she wasn't sure she'd want to cause any more. 'There has to be a way to fix things...' she thought, but without knowing what was going on, she had no way of helping.

And tori needed to help. She needed to do something to fix things. To make up for the harm she'd already caused.

It was just before the end of the day, with tori warring with herself about what to do, when she was called into the guidance counselors office. Sighing, Tori headed over, ariving to find Andre and Beck were also there, waiting to see Lane. The secretary told them to go into Lane's office, and they'd be joined in a moment. Beck shuffled to the farthest seat from Tori as they waited. Andre seemed oblivious to the tension between the two, or noticed but attributed it to the situation. No one likes being called into the guidance counselors office.

"I need to tell Trina I'll be late." Tori said to the room

"It's all good, I can give you a ride." Andre said. Beck remained silent.

"I really have to. We're planning on a sisters retreat for today. Hanging out and bonding kinda chiz." Tori lied. It was getting to be harder to be around her friends, what with all the lies that were flying about. But the truth had cause so much damage. Tori figured that maybe lies were the best thing until she knew what was going on. Besides, they didn't need to know anything about what Tori was doing, or trying to figure out. If they did, both boys would jump to the wrong conclusion. Not that Tori knew what the right conclusion was. But she knew she had been living in the wrong one for weeks now, and felt that for once she'd get the facts before she told anyone.

Trina (From Tori) - Called into Lane's office. May be a while. Abort?

Tori felt good about the text she'd sent. Maybe Trina would use this as an excuse not to go, and she could take the time to decide if she really wanted to know whatever secret was tearing Robbie apart.

That's when Lane and Sikowitz walked in. Both looked serious, and neither was talking. It was unnerving to see their favorite teacher acting so serious. Tori started getting nervous, thinking about what it could be that caused her to be called in. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong, and as far as she knew, they didn't have the authority to kick students out for stuff done off campus. The boys were likewise nervous, but Beck seemed just uncomfortable while Andre was on the verge of freaking out.

"I'm glad you could make it." Sikowitz started. "I'll make this as brief as possible. Does anyone know whats up with Jade?"

"Ask Robbie." Beck answered.

"Why?" Sikoitz asked.

"No reason. Beck thinks Jade..." Andre started.

"Good gravy, is that still going on? I thought that was last weeks drama? Look, I'll call in Robbie if I have to, I just want to know what happened to Jade?" The teacher said. Lane seemed content to sit in the background and stay quiet.

"I thought you'd like it with Jade quiet." Tori heard herself say. Beck gave her a sideways glare. Andre looked around, feeling more uncomfortable.

"I need a director. Jade can't direct if she's so passive. A good director takes charge, has a vision and moves to make it a reality. Right now, I don't have a second unit director, and the project will suffer for it." The Acting teacher said. "The students will suffer for it."

"I'll do it." Tori offered.

"No offense, Tori, but your only successful directing has been when your actors didn't need direction. I need a visionary who can motivate the actors to give their best performances. Especially with that group, it's all shruggers." Sikowitz ranted.

"Maybe we should call Robbie in." Lane offered.

"Or maybe you should talk to Jade?" Andre offered. "I think she's just being cautious after being suspended. Taking some time, trying not to be such a grung. I'm sure she'll do fine directing her parts of the project."

"I don't know..." Sikowitz said.

"Maybe your right. Jade's doing makeup work right now, so I'd leave it for now. If she's still unable to do her job, we'll have to find someone else. Maybe someone in her group can step up?" Lane said.

"No one else in her group could do this." Sikowitz said. "I need talented and experienced directors, and I chose the only two available for me."

"Then we switch groups." Andre said. "Beck directs the other group, and Jade works with us. We're the ones Sikowitz trust the most to find our characters."

"We'd have to move a girl from our group and a guy from the other to keep the genders equal." Tori said. 'I could be the girl, stay away from anything Jade might suddenly decide to do to feel vindicated.'

"Doesn't matter. Beck wouldn't be able to get the right performances out of that group. I need Jade." Sikowitz said.

"Hay!" Beck responded. "I'm probably a better director than she is."

"I don't think you understand. Jade could get them out of themselves to give good performances. Beck, you lack a certain something..." Sikowitz said.

"They don't fear you enough." Lane added.

"You mean respect." Tori quickly offered.

"No, I mean fear." Sikowitz clarified. "I was just looking for a better word for it."

"Are you saying I cant be as scary as... oh who am I kidding. Jade's the scariest person at school. If you need them afraid, then she's the choice." Beck said.

"Only she isn't. I want my gank back." Sikowitz whined.

"And you'll get her." Andre said.

Tori got a text from Trina.

Tori (From Trina) – We'll wait for you. Cat is anxious to see where Robbie lives.

"Can we go? That was Trina giving me the two minute warning." Tori said. She was lying again, but didn't want to be here listening to how evil Jade was a great director. She needn't have worried. The adults allowed the teens to go, and Tori raced to Trina's car. She got there to see her sister and Cat playing cards on their phones. 'I wonder if they're playing the same game, or just think they are?' Tori thought.

"Get in. We need to get moving if we're going to make our appointment." Trina said.

:}

So the great buildup is continuing. Jade's a bit withdrawn, and Tori is out to find out why Robbie taking Cece to school was more interesting to jade then ripping Tori's head off. Of course, it's possible Jade hasn't heard yet...

So, thoughts, concerns, maybe a really good limerick. Review. I've almost got Chapter ten done, and it has information that you may find interesting. Hint, the clues I've dropped support what they might discover.

Oh yea, loved where I ended the chapter.


	10. Chapter 10 adventures in Castle Royal

Disclaimer: I don't own victorious. I did make up Palace Royal, but I shouldn't have had too. It's just too perfect a name for a gated community. (If there is one, I didn't find it on my Google search.)

Disclaimer two: I'd say spoiler alert, but it's part of the story.

:}

Tori sat in the car, watching her sister check her mirrors while Cat giggled in the back seat. She was having second thoughts about Trina's plan, and those thoughts were making her stomach spin. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea. Neither of them will be home." She in formed her co-conspirators.

"That's even better. Now buckle up. I need to make a stop, and I don't want to be late." Trina said, starting the car. They pulled out of their spot at Hollywood Arts and started towards the exclusive living community of Palace Royal.

Tori felt a little confused by that attitude. But that was the nature of Trina's plan. Or rather, what Tori suspected was Trina's plan. The elder sister hadn't exactly filled her in on how they were going to get past the gate, beyond claiming to be looking at an open house. 'Like she could ever convince them she had the resources to afford one of those...' A noise brought her out of her thoughts.

"Yay, road trip." Cat exclaimed. "I'm. Going. on. a. secret. Trip. to. my. Friend. Robbie's. house." She said, each word spoken slowly as she typed on her phone.

Tori whipped her head around and stared at the redhead in the back seat. "Your not posting that, are you?" Tori asked.

"Maybe? Why?" Cat said, her face showing she didn't know what was wrong with the post.

"Robbie follows you. He'll know were coming." Trina said. A look of understanding crossed cat's face.

"Delete. Post." Cat said.

"Did you send it?" Tori asked.

"No, I wasn't done typing yet." Cat said, defending herself.

"Give me your phone." Tori requested. Cat did, and the young Latina checked her history. Luckily, Cat hadn't sent it yet, but only because she liked to proof read in case auto correct made her look stupid.

Soon the group were at a small hole in the wall restaurant near Castle Royal, and the three girls found themselves having an after school desert. When they'd arrived, Tori had argued that stopping for a snack wasn't a good idea. Still Trina insisted, saying "We need to keep up our strength if were gonna make it into Castle Royal." So the three girls wound up sitting there, eating pie and talking about what they were doing, who was probably doing what to whom, and whatever else came up for a good twenty minutes until Trina got a text. "Okay girls, the way in is now open. Lets go." The older girl announced.

"KK" Cat said as they paid and left. Tori wondered at how sneaky her sister had become in the last few months. Trina always thought of herself as stealthy, but up until now her plans were often as bad as Robbie's. Tori didn't have long to think before they arrived at the front gate.

"This is your plan?" Tori asked. "The front gate?"

"Hush." Trina said, rolling down her window. "Trina Vega. I'm here to look at a house." She told the guard.

"I.D." The guard replied. Trina pulled out her Drivers license.

"Here you go." She said. Then pointing at the other girls. "They're with me."

The guard hardly looked, instead swiping Trina's license and checking his Pearpad. "Looks good." he announced. "Do you need directions?"

"Thanks, but I've downloaded the communities map to my phone." Trina said happily.

The guard pushed the button on his pad that opened the gate, adding "Have a nice day."

"You too." Trina chirped. The whole thing took maybe thirty seconds.

Tori was left dumbfounded. 'They just let us in? I thought.. I mean, the security.. now I'm babbling in my head!' She was brought out of her thoughts by Trina's voice.

"Okay, this is where we split up. Tori, you and Cat gather information while I take a tour of a multimillion dollar house. I'll drop you off as close as I can get. I'll forward a copy of the community map to your phones so you can find your way, and meet up with me when your done." Trina said.

"How'd you..' Tori started. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to know how Trina had pulled this off.

"I'm looking at the house for one of the producers of my hit show,.." Trina didn't get to finish before Cat and Tori were out of the car and ruining across the park that was built next to and around the community center. The older girl just shrugged and drove to her destination.

The two girls managed to get to Robbie's home fairly quickly, walking most of the distance. It was still over half a mile, but neither minded. They enjoyed the walk through the planned, gated community. The trees were well taken care of, and the houses were all so nice. Even the sidewalk was designed with walkers in mind. It was a pleasant walk, each girl pointing out features of the houses they liked. That was, until they got to the neighborhood they were going to, where all the houses were behind locked gates. Once they arrived, they took the moment to admire the home. It was huge, at least four stories tall and covering a fair amount of property. They had to get past the gate around the home, so Cat decided to just ring the bell and wait for someone on the intercom. Of course, she didn't bother to tell Tori before doing that.

"Hello?" Came the voice on the intercom. It was male, and to Tori, it rang of a distant familiarity. Not sure where or when she'd heard it before, Tori immediately hid from the camera.

"Hi, I'm, uh, Cece." Cat said. Trying to sound like the girl Robbie was dating. While not quite the mimic Jade was, Cat's ability to alter her voice was truly astonishing.

"Oh, really? Aren't you supposed to be meeting Robbie at the Day Spa? It's in the community center, if your wondering." Came the reply.

"We'll, I got lost, and wound up here. And since I was here anyways. I was thinking that maybe I could meet his parents." Cat said. Tori was surprised that Cat could come up with any of this. She'd mentioned that Cece was on a date with the boy, but for Cat to remember the name was almost amazing. Cat could be so vacant sometimes.

"You should go meet up with him." Came the reply.

"Are you his father?" Cat asked, and Tori face-palmed. She couldn't believe what Cat was doing. Still, it was sticking to the narrative. And then there was that voice. That voice, the male voice that answered the intercom. That voice worried her, making Tori check again and make sure she was hidden from any cameras that might possibly see her. Tori just knew she didn't want that voice to know she was there.

Tori still had question, however, and since Cat had already opened the dialogue, she decided to push their luck even further. The voice hadn't answered Cat, as if he was trying to figure something out. But Tori wanted to put a face to the voice, and end the mystery of Robbie's family. After all, with as much as they knew about the nerdy boy, no one had ever met his parents. Tori decided to go for broke as she pulled her phone and compact out. She then texted Cat.

"I'm his father." The voice finally said. "You can call me Mister Shapiro."

Cat (From Tori) – See if you can get him to come here so we can see his face.

The redhead's phone honked, so she looked at it briefly, reading the message. Then she looked back at the camera. "I want to see your face." Cat said. Even she knew it was an odd request, but didn't stop to think. Tori, for her part, was thinking of how to make a quick escape. That request was just too sudden, too strange. But a second later, a panel opened next to the intercom, reveling a flat screen. A picture appeared as the screen came to life, revealing the man Cat had been speaking to. Tori used her compact to see what the man looked like while Cat shot a none too discreet picture with her phone. Somehow, to the camera, it looked like she was checking her phone.

"You look familiar." The Mister Shapiro said. "Have we met before?"

Tori froze. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she took what felt like forever, but probably wasn't any longer then usual to pull out her phone and pull up a picture. It was a face she hadn't seen in over a year. Taking the time Mister Shapiro was using to scrutinize Cat's face, Tori was able to find the picture and compare it with the image she saw from around the corner. There was no longer any doubt in her mind, and suddenly Jade living here made perfect sense. Thomas Shapiro was Jade's father.

"Hi Cat." a female voice said. Using the mirror on her compact again, Tori looked to find the source of the new voice. She saw an older woman, probably late thirties to maybe forty at the oldest, who looked a bit like Jade, standing in the open doorway in the background. She was holding a tray, probably bringing mister Shapiro something. "What're you doing here?"

"Hi misses West. How's Jade doing?" Cat replied. The man looked at Cat for another second, then picked up the phone

"Security, I have an unauthorized visitor at my front gate." He said.

"Run" Tori screamed, and the two took off.

"He he he he" Cat giggled as they ran. After a short while, Tori saw that they were near the community center, so she looked around for a place to hide until Trina was done. Going into an open door, they found themselves in the office area of the center. Tori led Cat into a back room. The two were panting, both a little winded from the sprint. "Um, Tori, why were we running?" Cat asked.

"My god, this is bad. That man, the guy who said he was Robbie's father." Tori said. "I think he's Jade's father too."

"What makes you think that?" Cat asked.

"Look at this picture of her father I have from when he went to see her play." Tori said showing Cat the picture. Cat took Tori's phone to take a closer look, then took her own phone after it honked. "Did you sent yourself the picture?" Tori asked.

"Yea, but don't worry. I just needed it to do a side by side comparison." Cat replied, smiling as she handed Tori her phone back.

Tori didn't have a good feeling about that, it just didn't sound right, but let it drop for a second. She had other things on her mind, like Jade being Robbie's sister. It wasn't the last thing she'd have expected, but only because she'd never have believed it if someone had told her. No, the freakout was only being held back because they still had security looking for them, and she couldn't afford to be caught. Realizing Cat had been looking at the picture for over a minute, the Latina finally asked. "Well?"

"I think they have a freezy queen next to the day spa." Cat replied.

"What about the pictures?" Tori asked, trying hard not to scream.

"I kinda see it. Let me do some research." Cat said.

"No research. We can't let anyone know about this until we talk to Robbie." Tori said, "Come on, we need to find him."

"Who?" Cat asked.

"Robbie." Tori replied, leading Cat through the building to the front desk. "Excuse me, were friends of Robbie Shapero, and we're trying to find him. It's kinda important. Can you direct us to him?" She gave the lady her best smile.

"Let me check." The lady said, typing something on her computer. "Ah, here it is. He and his lady friend just finished their scheduled massages and have reservations in the tanning salon. It's in building G."

"Thank you." Tori replied, then led Cat to a map of the buildings that made up the community center. They found the salon, and quickly made their way to where their friends were tanning. It took a bit of sneaking, but they managed to get into the back where the tanning area was. From there, a clipboard pointed them to the right beds. Or bed, since Robbie wasn't tanning. He was sitting by Cece's bed, playing his guitar. He saw the girls as they entered the tanning area, and moved to block their progress.

"Tori!" He whisper yelled. "You shouldn't be here!" He gestured as he tried to motion for them to leave. "Wait, how'd you get past the gate? I mean, you shouldn't even be here." He reached for his phone as he spoke.

"You don't need to call anyone, we're just here to ask a few questions about Jade." Tori started. Luckily, Robbie had a hard time staying mad at Cat.

"Wasn't gonna call anyone. Now that I'm not playing my guitar, I thought I'd check the slap, maybe see what was in some of the alerts I missed. Go ahead and tell me what you came her to..." Robbie paled as he looked at his phone. Tori didn't like his reactions.

"What is it?" Tori asked. She looked over his shoulder and saw the two pictures of Jade's father next to each other with the Tag "Jade's father on the right, Robbie's on the left. Who thinks these are the same person? Tori wants to know."

"Cat!" Tori screamed. The ditzy girl jumped. "Why did you post the pictures?"

"I wasn't sure if they were the same man. I needed a second opinion." The smaller girl said as she clutched her phone.

"Were dead." Tori said, sitting down hard.

"Of course there the same guy. If they're not, then their twins, and I can tell you my dad doesn't...I mean, of course there not the same person." Robbie said, in a near panic. "Oh who am I kidding. Jade's gonna be so fucking pissed." Robbie said, pacing almost in place.

"You swore" Came from the tanning bed. Tori recognized the voice as Cece's.

"Why?" Tori said again, looking at Cat.

Followers (From Cat) - Tori's mad at me, please ignore that Jade and Robbie have the same father, even though it means that they probably didn't sleep together. :)

A beep and a glance later, and Tori was beside herself. "Cat, we need to get this taken down. I think that's the reason Jade didn't want anyone to know where she lived." Tori explained.

"I agree." Came Cece's voice from the tanning bed. "Now someone fill me in."

Robbie moved over to the tanning bed and quickly informed his date about what had just been discovered. "Okay, so Jade's your sister. That makes me feel so much safer. Robbie, I'm beginning to think, maybe, were not right for each other."

"Your breaking up with me because Jade's my sister?" He asked.

"Well, it makes you less hot if she's not your Ex. Still, I'm willing to sleep with you. I just don't think we'll work out as a couple." Cece told him.

Robbie's phone beeped again.

Followers (From Cat) – Robbie's girlfriend is a slut. Offered him breakup sex once she found out he didn't do it with Jade. After that, they're broken up.

"Cat!" Came from both Tori and Robbie.

"What? It's true." The short girl said.

"But we don't need to tell the world." Robbie said.

"Hold on, I'm going to find out where Trina is." Tori said. A quick exchange of texts later, "She's still looking at the house. Robbie, sorry about invading your privacy. Cat and I will just find a place to hang until Trina's done. Just one favor little favor please."

"What?" The boy replied, frustrated.

"Try and calm Jade down." Tori gave her best smile. The nerdy boy was obviously wavering when his phone beeped again.

Followers (From Cat) – Tori's trying to charm Robbie into calming Jade down. Is everyone after my guy? It would work better if Tori was willing to show some skin. #amateur.

Robbie read his phone, and groaned. "Cat, you have to stop posting everything thats happening." He said, showing Tori the post.

"We'll be at the Freezy Queen." Tori said, leading Cat out of there. Cat gave a happy squeal, while Robbie slid down into his seat.

A short time later, Tori was safely on her way home. Well, as safe as could be expected. She was worried that any moment Jade would show up and rip her apart. Her only saving grace was, from past experience, Jade didn't follow Cat on the slap. That meant that they had a window to make their escape before Jade hunted them down like animals. While Tori was having traumatic flashes at every pair of scissors she saw, Trina was gushing about the house she'd looked at. Trina had been talking about the place the whole drive. She felt that it would be a perfect place to live once she makes some serious money. "And the best part, Amanda Rothschild owns a house in the community. We'd be neighbors." Trina said.

"Can we worry about my impending demise?' Tori finally asked. The stress had been adding up, and now Tori needed assurance that she would live to see another school day.

"Don't over react. Jade might not kill you. Maybe she'll be happy that the secrecy is over?" Trina said. "Or maybe Sikowitz will be happy that she's back to her angry self again. You said he needed people afraid of her."

"I'm going to die, and you're making jokes. Trina, this isn't funny. Jade endured a lot of slut shaming just to keep this secret. She'll kill us for sure." Tori moaned. "Cut us up and bury us in the desert, maybe even alive. I mean, This was her big secret."

"Okay, How'd they afford to live there?" Trina asked. "I think there's a lot more going on then just family drama. Like, where's Robbie's mom? No way that guy has both families there. Just, think about it. There has to be more that their hiding. I'll bet even Robbie doesn't know what."

Tori didn't bother to try to answer. She just looked out the window and worried about what might happen. And her worries didn't lesson as they dropped Cat off with her roommate. Part of it was overhearing Trina talking with Cat's roommate, Sam. It seemed the ICarly alum wasn't going to protect Cat from the consequences of pissing Jade off. Trina did get her to agree to talk to Jade, maybe calm her down, but only if the goth showed up at the apartment. Sam had no intention of invading Jade's home. "I mean, what kind of person does that?" Sam had asked. It was the best they could get.

Tori got home without hearing anything from Robbie or Jade, and her paranoia was building. She wanted her father to check her room for Jade, or explosives, or whatever fiendish thing Jade would come up with to extract her revenge. Of course, her father was working, investigation a case, while her mother was planning another trip to visit family.

Holly Vega worked, but even Tori had no idea what her mother did to earn money, while the Vega matriarch seemed to have a very eclectic schedule that had her working when Tori needed her, or out doing whatever. Tori pined for the days when her family would sit and eat dinner together. Those warm memories were part of why Family Pot Pie was such a treat. It was a meal shared by her family, something that brought them all together. Pushing past her nostalgia and the warm feelings it brought, Tori managed to get Trina to check her room, including the closet and under the bed.

"I can tell you right now, Jade's not here. The monster under your bed swears he'd book it if she slipped under there, while the psychotic killer in your closet admits he's scared of her. Neither would be here if she was." Trina assured her.

"Thanks." Tori didn't need the sarcasm. Jade was going to end her life, and her sister was making jokes. Tori finished her evening routine and settled in for a long, sleepless night. Despite her fears, and guilt, she did get some sleep, but was exhausted when her alarm startled her in the morning. Tori started her day by falling out of bed.

"Trina, I don't feel so well. Maybe I should stay home." Tori said.

"Right, because you'd rather be here, all alone, when Jade decides to talk to you. Personally, I'd at least want witnesses." Trina said. Somehow Trina's words failed to bolster Tori's confidence.

:}

Okay, don't hate. I did drop a few clues as to Jade's relationship with Robbie along the way. Let me know if you want a recap. But Trina's right, there's more mystery ahead. Just not as big, or as deep. There's also the consequences of this revelation. Yes, more to come.

So what did you think? Questions? Comments? Really good oatmeal cookie recopies. I'll take it all.

Next time, the fallout begins. I know you're already guessing at what that entails.


	11. Chapter 11 Fallout from the big reveal

Disclaimer: You know what, i don't need to do this. I even put it in the description. I still don't own the root material.

Warning: Cat.

:}

The whole way to school, Tori hoped Jade would be unable to get to school today. Maybe her car wouldn't start, or her father would need her to do something around the house. Maybe he'd ground her for letting a family secret out. But for all her hoping, she knew it was at best a long shot. Despite that, Tori kept hoping. Tori needed that, something, some bit of hope, to get her in to the school.

Once at school, Tori felt herself going back into survival mode. She felt too in the open, and Jade was know for getting revenge while classes were in session. First she thought about hiding near Beck. He was usually a calming influence on Jade. Of course, he was upset with her right now, and Jade might not care about Beck. Tori wondered who could protect her from the raging goth.

Jade arrived to school with her new controlled attitude still in full effect. She didn't look at anyone, letting her gaze drift across them while focusing on what she needed to get done for her classes. She went to her locker and switched out books. When she closed her locker, she hesitated. There was no tag on her locker. It was her first hint that something was different. As she walked to her first class, she passed a couple of students, and they stopped talking, as I they'd been talking about her. This wasn't new, but the subtext was different. In the way they looked at her, and the tones they used wen they didn't think she could hear. Jade was now sure something had changed, so she took the first opportunity to ask. Not an easy task when you have no friends, and threats could get you expelled.

Tori found Jade later that day, during study hall, quite by accident. Tori had gone to the bathroom, and on impulse checked the one place Jade was sure to go if upset, and there she was. Jade was sitting in the janitors closet, cutting up his trash cans. Tori didn't want to go in and ask, avoiding pissed of homicidal maniacs with scissors being fairly early in the survival guide, but she wasn't given a choice. As she was walking away from the closet, Sinjin rushed her, while Burf appeared from nowhere and opened the door. Before Tori could react, they'd pushed her in and closed the door. Both nerdy boys were leaning against it, making a sort of lock, keeping Tori in there with the unstable goth.

"Fix Jade. We need her for the class project." Sinjin shouted through the door.

'You're not in that class!' Tori thought, but decided not to make a sound, out of fear that Jade would rip her apart. She took a second to evaluate her situation, looking for any possible escape, or to see if Jade had noticed her yet.

Jade hadn't looked up, she just continued to cut through heavy industrial grade rubber with her scissors. Tori looked around, contemplated using the ladder to climb to the library, but decided against it. Jade wasn't trying to kill her yet. She realized the goth was more depressed than anything else. Tori felt herself wanting to find out why, thinking maybe she could help. 'They'll write that on my tomb stone. "Died trying to help".' she thought.

"So.." Tori started.

"They're pitying me." Jade said. The goth still hadn't looked up.

"What?" Tori wasn't sure what Jade had said, and was sure she heard wrong.

"Pity. They fucking pity me." Jade shot. Jade was looking at her now, holding back the hurt. Tori just stared, unable to look away, stunned into silence. She had no reference, no way to understand what Jade was saying, or going through. Tori wondered if maybe, just maybe, the other girl was setting her up.

"I can handle being hated. In time, I'd have gotten the main offenders, or they'd have moved on to less dangerous targets. It was only a matter of time before the asshole who was tagging my locker got caught, and I was going to let him know just how I felt about being called a whore." Jade smiled, and Tori saw how scary her smile could be. Jade must have harbored fantasies about the horrible revenge she was going to inflict upon whomever was writing on her locker. But after a moment, Jade snapped out of it. "You could have just left it, taken Rex's word that I was all right. You didn't have to find my home."

"Is" was all Tori got out before Jade's glare shut her down.

"Now everyone knows Beck was telling the truth. Not the whore part, but that I'm a bastard." Jade said. "Robbie's poorer relation." The last line was tinged with hurt.

"Jade.." Tori started again.

"This isn't about how much of a loser Robbie is. We both know he could do better than that shallow gank." Jade started. Tori was going to protest, protect her friend, but Jade's glare stole her voice. "This isn't about how everyone tried to hurt me, or even about you fucking Beck. We were done, he can fuck any scank he wants." Tori flinched. That word hurt. "This is about my reputation. When you hate someone, but fear them, that means your dealing with an equal, or a better. They hated me for hurting Beck, and seeing me week, they decided to strike. But you noticed, they weren't doing it openly. They were afraid. They were afraid of me, and you know that made me their equal. Made me the one in control. But no one pity's their equals. They empathize, maybe sympathize, but never pity. You feel sorry for someone who loses everything but can get it back. You pity someone who can't. Ptiy's for those beneath you. Everyone pity's me, and that means they think they're better than I am." Jade spat out.

Tori didn't know what to say. Jade was sitting there, feeling hurt because she was now the person everyone looked down on. It didn't make sense. 'Then again, I don't want their pity. I want them to be rooting for me. Maybe..' Tori didn't get to finish that thought.

"It was a family secret. Dad couldn't admit to having a mistress, to getting my mother pregnant." Jade said. "His own parents would have disowned him if he got a shiksa preggers. So he lied to my mother, told her he'd take care of her, but in the end, she had to work to support us in anything more than squallier. I swear to god she should never have believed in him." Hurt radiated from Jade, her voice cracking as she spoke, lost in old feelings.

Tori hesitated, just for a second, remembering one of the old, unwritten rules of the successful she'd read in a book somewhere. "He's rich now, right?" Tori said. "Maybe his parents were willing to look past your mothers ethnicity to see what.." Jade cut her off.

"It's not his house. One of his clients is letting him live there. Funny, after all these years as an agent and business manager, he finally has a client with some serious cash." Jade said, still sounding wounded.

"Who's house is it?" Tori asked, 'Great, rub salt in the wounds.'

"Amanda Rothschild" Jade said, and she seemed to have found her hate again. "She's the one who let him stay in her home, rent free, so he could seem like enough of a success for his parents to forgive getting his mistress pregnant."

"Right, because successful men, back in the day, were allowed to have mistresses." Tori started, then shifted to "Jade, I'm sure she meant..." Tori ran out of words, not sure how to comfort Jade. Even the old beliefs that women endured sex, so a mistress was a necessity of a successful man didn't help, cause this wasn't the old days.

"Look, Tori, I know you think your helping. But the only thing that's going to help will get me kicked out of this place. So leave me alone, and try not to be too close for the next few days." Jade said, anger melting into a sad, defeated tone. Tori started towards the door, only to hear Jade's voice cut through the silence that had fallen so heavily between them. It seemed that somewhere along the line Sinjin and Burf had left them alone to talk. "And Tori."

"Yes" She said, strangely anticipating whatever Jade might have left to say.

"I think I'll miss you when I'm gone." Jade said. Tori stared, but Jade got up and walked out of the closet. "Bye." She sounded so week, defeated.

Tori didn't sit with her normal friends at lunch. She needed advice. She went to her sister looking for a clue as to how she could fix Jade before the goth did something extreme enough to make people stop pitying her. Trina wasn't alone. Cat had chosen to join her for this meal. They were discussing something when Tori approached.

"Tori, I was wondering, do you think I should try and get my license? I mean, my special vitamins have changed, and I think the ones I take now would allow me to drive." Cat said. To Tori, that didn't sound like a good idea.

"So Sinjin says you're going to fix Jade." Trina said, almost out of nowhere.

"I don't think I did a very good job at that. I'm not sure, but she may kill someone in the next few days." Tori said.

"And why, baby sis, would she kill someone. I mean, besides you, and Robbie, and maybe Beck, Sinjin, Burf... This list is getting kinda long, so lets cut to the chase. What did she tell you?" Trina asked.

"She says everyone is pitying her, and she doesn't want to be pitied." Tori said.

"I don't blame her." Cat said. "Must be hard to go from top fish to just another guppy."

"I don't quit get it. Why is everyone feeling sorry for her?" Tori asked. 'And did Cat just make a correct analogy?'

"Because she's Robbie's sister, and despite how weird Robbie is, her father picked his family over hers." Trina guessed.

"I like Robbie. Glad that slut broke up with him." Cat spat. There was an unusual venom in her statement.

"So are you going to date him?" Trina asked.

"No, Gross." The redhead replied.

"Guys, this isn't helping." Tori said.

"Jade needs to give everyone something else to think about. Maybe you could tell her how this directing project could get everyone's mind off her problems and remind them how talented she is?" Trina said.

"It sounds good on paper, buy Beck deliberately chose an author Jade despises." Tori said.

"Who's that?" Trina asked.

"Amanda Rothschild" Cat answered. "The Lost Seconds"

"Why? Her stuff's borderline supernatural, and can be pretty scary. It's the kind of thing Jade should like." Trina said. "As a director, she could emphasis the horror elements, make it truly scary."

"Jade's dad, Mister Shapero." Tori started. It felt weird saying that name associated with Jade. "He works for Miss Rothschild. She lets him live in that big house rent free in return for managing her money."

"He manages her? Do you think he could arrange a meeting? I really want to meet her." Trina gushed.

"And sleep with her." Tori replied. "This isn't helping."

"I don't get it." Cat said. "How could two women do 'the deed.'" Cat made her voice as mysterious as she could for the last two words.

"You mean sex?" Trina asked. "Ask any senior boy, they'll tell you. In graphic detail." Then turning back to her sister. "I just said she was my lesbian crush. Who knows, she could be a real cow."

"Your sensitivity is noted. Now, back to the original problem, how do we keep Jade from killing off half the school?' Tori asked.

"It's a shame we're both women. Imagine the tragedy, soul mate cursed to be in heterosexual same sex body's, never being more than the closest of friends." Trina started to drift. Meanwhile, Cat had started fiddling with her phone.

"So Cat, any.. What are you doing?' Tori asked.

"Texting Jade. Want me to send you a copy?" Cat asked like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Whyyyy? Wait, yes, send me a copy." Tori said. Soon her phone beeped and she saw the messages appear.

Jade (From Cat) – My bike has a flat tire. Can you give me a ride home?

Cat (From Jade) - Don't you have a spare?

Jade (From Cat) – I do, at home.

Cat (From Jade) – Why am I not surprised. Why not have someone else drive you?

Jade (From Cat) – I don't want everyone thinking I'm forgetful.

Cat (From Jade) – I was going to say something, but never mind. Meet me by my car at the end of the day, and don't be late.

"See, just like that, and I can talk to Jadey. Now, all you have to do is come up with a brilliant argument for her to not kill half the school." Cat said.

"I'm calling Sinjin." Trina said.

"Why?" Tori whined. It sounded so off coming from the normally happy girl.

"Cause we can't hope for Cat here to remember what we tell her." Trina replied. "Now hush..."

Later, towards the end of the day and armed with a surprisingly sophisticated piece of equipment, Cat walked out to Jade's car. Tori and Trina also walked out, rushing to Trina's car and driving off. They knew where Cat was going, and the device only had about half a mile range. Still, they'd know everything said in the car, and Tori could help talk Jade down without revealing who was talking.

"Sinjin was unusually helpful. Normally he'd ask for something creepy." Tori commented.

"He likes living. His dreams of Jade don't involve her using her scissors to remove his small intestines." Trina replied.

"Actually, they do. Well, the nightmares. That's why I was so quick to help." Came his voice over their communication system.

"Hay, this is a private intervention." Tori said.

"To quote Anya from Buffy, 'Here to help. Wanna live.'" Sinjin said. Trina wondered again about the wisdom of asking for his help, but the techie was the only person likely to have what they needed.

"Alright Cat, this is the last time I do this for you, understand. I want you to store spare tires in your locker, and always have at lest one on you. Tomorrow, I'm searching your backpack, and you'd better have a spare inner tube." Jade sounded wazzed.

"I know, but this was the only way you'd listen to me long enough to, I don't know, decide not to kill half the school?" Cat said. Tori face-palmed.

"Cat, your not supposed to say that." Tori said.

"Who talked? Was it Tori? Sinjin? It doesn't matter, I'll get both of them." Jade said, seething.

"Cat, listen. I'm going to say something, and when I do, I want you to repeat what I'm saying word for word, but make it your own. Okay?" Trina said. "Listen. The line is: I understand, but wouldn't it be better to prove to the school how good you really are?"

Cat waited for a second, then paraphrased. "Jade, if you kill them, they'll never see how good you really are."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Jade sounded very intimidating to Tori, and she was in a different car.

"I mean, you're directing shruggers, while Beck has the best players in the school, minus you. Maybe you could show how good you are at getting star level performances out of your cast. That would be the talk of the school, and no one would look funny at you." Cat paraphrased what Trina was saying, adding in elements from Tori and Sinjin.

"Sometimes I forget how insightful you can be, Cat. So tell me, are you on the phone? Texting? Maybe you're using some kind of radio. It sounds like your reciting lines, and your a good actress, but the delays are too long. I think someone has to be feeding you lines." Jade's voice had a tinge of mirth, and Tori was worried her friend was going to be strip searched and left to walk home naked.

"Okay, maybe someone's been feeding me lines, but I needed the help. I wasn't going to let you blow up the school just because you wont admit you're crushing on Tori." Cat replied.

"What?" Cat heard from Tori, Jade, Trina and Sinjin. The last being the only one who sounded at all excited about the prospects of Jade liking Tori.

"You heard me." Cat shot back.

"You hear that? You can hear the difference. Cat's just as confident, but she's got an idea of what she's going to say already, so she's much quicker." Trina noted.

Tori wasn't to happy about the insight. "Can we stay on topic please." she said to her sister

"Cat, I don't know where this is coming from, but just to be clear, I don't like Tori." Jade said. She was talking slowly for the last four words, like trying to talk to a slow child.

"Sure you don't." Cat replied.

"Leave it. Cat, don't push this. Jade's unpredictable. We had her with the movie, we don't need to get crazy." Tori said.

"Afraid she's right?" Trina asked.

"Let's look at the evidence, shall we?" Cat said.

"No!" Tori shot back, then catching herself, "I was talking to Trina, but No to Cat too."

"Okay, prove it to me." Jade said, and Tori could have heard the amusement in her voice, but was talking at the time.

"Okay, Let's." Cat said "First, you don't let anyone tell you what to do, and do what you want to. Sometimes they're the same thing, but others, you only ever did what Beck or Tori asked you too, and then needed to justify it." Cat sounded sure of herself. "Second, you obsess over Tori more than just about any other person. I know you can be a prankster, but you don't pick on anyone like you pick on Tori. However, after Tori being the leader of the pack when it came to shaming you, you told her to stay away, forgiving her for hurting you. Kinda strange considering your history."

"I forgave you." Jade said.

"Yea, but I'm one of your oldest friends, and you can't really risk losing any right now." Cat said. "And you'll probably find some way to get back at me, just so you feel like were even. But thats taking us of topic. Cause third, you go to Tori when you need a friend. The way I depend on you, you depend on her. Even Beck wasn't your first choice."

"Tori's easy to guilt into doing stuff. Or used to be. She doesn't like me much these days. Gone off the hinges and tried to win herself Beck. Stupid girl only had to wait, and he'd have been drawn to her." Jade sounded bitter as she spoke about Tori.

"That's something well talk about later. My next point is Moose. You won, but once you did, you didn't want him anymore. You were attracted to him. I know it. But you let it be about winning, not dating." Cat continued.

"Talk about later? Cat, I'm not talking about any of this, not with you, not with Tori, not with anyone. So why don't you and whomever's been feeding you lines just drop it." Jade said sharply, sounding like she'd regained her compsure.

"So your not going to do anything drastic?" The redhead asked.

"Not if you drop it." The goth replied.

"And your going to channel all your frustration into directing your part of Sikowitz's project?" Cat asked.

"Yes." Jade huffed.

"And you'll admit you're crushing on Tori?" Cat pushed.

"NO!" Jade shouted.

"But we just.." Cat tried to say.

"I said drop it. I don't want to hear it." Jade shot back. They sat in silence for another few moments, neither looking at the other.

"You are, you know." Cat said, breaking the silences.

"No! I! Am! NOT!" Jade emphasized every word.

"And denial isn't just a street in Phoenix." Cat replied.

"What?" Tori asked her sister.

"Don't ask. It's probably better that we don't know." Trina replied. The elder Vega was driving carefully, making sure they were within range of their communication system.

Jade didn't say a word. Tori wondered if she was hoping Cat would drop it, or if that last statement had confused her as much as it did them. But Cat let Jade have her silence for a good half minute before speaking again. "Lets talk about Beck."

"NO!" Jade shouted, and Trina had to slow down. Jade had stopped her car. For several seconds, no one was sure if Cat was going to survive.

"You're angry at Tori for dating Beck?" Cat asked, her question spoken softly.

"I already told you, No. She just messed up when she forced things. She just needed to wait, be patient and he'd have been hers." Jade said, sounding eerily calm.

"And they'd both be unhappy. Tori doesn't know it, Stay quiet Tori, but she's as into you as you are to her." Cat spoke, and Trina felt her heart slow, just for a second. Tori's face was already in her palms, but she was shaking now, livid. Sinjin had either dropped out of the conversation or was out of range, because his inevitable gasp of shock was missing.

"So Tori's the one feeding you lines?" Jade asked, sounding triumphant.

"No, and don't change the subject." Cat said, trying to direct where thing were going.

"Tell Tori that I'm not going to hurt her, but she needs to stop this chiz now." Jade warned.

"She's not a part of this. I stopped listening to her a while ago. Now, admit you want her." Cat was pushing.

"I don't want Tori like that." Jade shot back.

"Then don't seduce her. Tori deserves a decent..." Cat was at a loss for words, then found one. "Special friend. If your just winning her for revenge for whatever she did with Beck, then back off." Cat said.

"She fucked him while he was drunk, and that's not my concern any more." Jade snapped. She was getting angry. Or angrier.

"Right. Your not jealous of Tori for... friending Beck, your jealous of Beck for friending Tori first." Cat said.

"Friending? God cat, you can't talk about this unless you use grownup words." Sarcasm dripped venomously from Jade's words.

"Okay, you want to fuck Tori's brains out, but won't admit it, not even to yourself. Now you can continue to deny it, to me, Tori, yourself and everyone, or you can pursue her. Maybe she isn't interested, but I know several not gay people, girls, who would be with you anyway. So it's time to buck up and get your game on, because Tori's the one who's going to change the way you see yourself. Once you win her heart, then you're going to be the guy who won Tori Vega." Cat sounded proud of herself.

"One problem. I don't like her, and she's straight." Jade said. "Wait, Guy?!" Jade's voice echoed in the small space of the car,

"Like I said, Denial isn't just a road in Phoenix." Cat said.

Tori was sitting next to her sister, hands clenched into fists. 'I have to kill Cat.' She thought. 'She was just supposed to redirect Jade from mass murder to something more constructive, and she left the reservation. Now she's arguing with Jade, telling her that she likes me.' Tori was furious. "Trina, lets get out of here. We can wait for Cat at her place."

"Right. Cat, see you there." Trina said, and stepped on the gas.

:}

So there you have it, the intervention. Loved Cat in this one. Also, to those of you who might wonder about it, given the way they portrayed Robbie in the show, I could totally see Jade being pitied. I don't see her liking it one bit.

So, comments, thoughts, whatever, leave it in the reviews. Also, apparently no one has a killer oatmeal cookie recipe. Pitty.

So what do you think is going to happen next. I know, worlds weakest cliffhanger.


	12. Chapter 12 Fallout from the fallout

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or it's characters. I make no money from this.

:}

The Vega sisters arrived at Cats Venice beach apartment within five minutes, quickly found parking and went in to speak with her roommate. Really, all they needed was to be allowed to wait inside for the ditzy girl so they could confront her on everything she'd said to Jade.

Trina found she had to guide Tori, and talk her sister down. Apparently Tori was pissed beyond measure that Cat went so far off script. However, to Trina, it was still a win. They had deescalated Jade, possibly saved one or more students lives. Those were good things. Trina knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"And who the Chiz are you?" Sam asked,. The ICarly alum was wearing oily coveralls, a bandana covering her hair, and had grease smeared on her face.

"We're friends of Cat. We need to talk with her about something, but she's talking with a mutual friend right now. Is it alright if we wait inside?" Tori asked, trying to hold back her anger.

"Whatever." Sam replied, and stepped back to let the sisters in. Then she went back to whatever she was doing.

"I Why the grease monkey look?" Trina asked. "Cat can't be liking that."

"I'm taking in extra money by fixing up peoples bikes." Sam said. "baby sitting just doesn't bring in the cash like it used to."

"I guess it's all the competition from teenagers looking for some easy cash." Tori observed.

"But we're trained, professional babysitters." Sam replied. "We're better then some cheerleader looking to make a little cash for her big date night."

"Doesn't seem like a good long term business plan." Trina said. "But the bike repair, that looks to make some cash. You might also try putting custom bikes together for people, or customizing bikes. Whatever in your skill range."

Trina and Sam started discussing options for her to make money. Tori had lost interest in that conversation. Inwardly she was fuming. She needed to figure out where to hide the body. Still, the conversation was giving the other girls something to do, and that did help calm Tori down, just a bit.

A couple of minutes later, Cat walked in through the back entrance. The ditzy girl was almost skipping as she entered. She wasn't surprised to see the Vega's, having heard them mention they'd be waiting here. Instead she went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water for herself.

"So, I think that went well." Cat said, sounding happy.

"This sounds boring, I'm out." Sam said, heading towards the bedroom.

"You told Jade that I slept with Beck." Tori said, almost screaming.

"And I'm back in." Sam said, turning on her heels and moving to take a seat.

"She brought that part up." Cat said. The redhead was calm, having already geared herself up for this fight. "I just mentioned that she shouldn't use revenge as her reason for friending you."

"Frineding?" Sam asked.

"Cat for screwing." Trina said.

"You just needed to get her on board with doing the assignment, directing her set of scenes, and not worrying about what people thought. Was that so hard? Of course not, because you did it, right before you veered into my love life." Tori said, her anger still held in check.

"Lots of people on roads in Phoenix." Cat replied.

"Don't ask." Trina said to Sam.

The blond was left with her mouth open, the question hanging on her lips. But she was able to let it drop as the need to know whats going on overcame that part. "I'm missing something here. Look, I know you guys have known her longer, but Jade's my friend too. And she's more like me than I'd like to believe." Sam said. "So if this concerns her, I think I should be a part of it."

"Okay, but sit down, cause your gonna need a lot of back story. It started when I was talking to Trina about Amanda Rothschild. Trina said she had a girl crush on the author." Cat looked around the room, making sure everyone was on board. They knew Cat, and were willing to see where this went, for now. "It got me thinking, had I ever had a crush on a girl?"

"And how does this affect Jade?" Sam asked.

"In a minute. Anyways, I realized I had, but it didn't count because I would have sworn Jade was a dude at that point at the time. Which reminds me. You can never tell Jade that, during our first sleepover, I looked down her pants while she slept." Cat looked around, then decided to answer the question on everyone's faces. "How else was I going to be sure she didn't have man parts?"

"And how does this involve me?" Tori asked.

"I thought you were listening in. Jade's got a girl crush on you. For most people, this wouldn't be a problem. But for Jade, and maybe Sam, it's hard to find someone you like enough to date." Cat glanced at her roommate, and was relieved when the blond nodded her agreement. "Jade wants you, and from what I can guess, you want her too."

"I" Tori was trying to find words.

"Proof?" Sam said.

"Tori's taken almost everything Jade was accused of personally, like she cheated on her instead of Beck." Trina filled in. Then Trina went over the events leading to that meeting in Cat's apartment. When they got to the mansion, Sam started getting miffed.

"Whats wrong?" Cat asked.

"So Jade lives in a mansion, and couldn't invite me over for a swim in her ginormous pool?" Sam was annoyed, but seemed to understand parental mismanagement and secrets far better than any of the Hollywood Arts gang did. A little later, when she heard about Jade's secretly being Robbie's half sister, she got even madder.

"You okay?" Cat asked.

"My dad took off when I was young, and it messed me up. I'm amazed how normal my sister is. So I understand how she felt she needed him in her life. But to put up with all the things she had to, just to keep his stupid secret, that's just low." Sam said. "She can live here. We'll find room. Get her out of that house. She doesn't need him."

"I don't think it's our choice." Trina said. "Look at how much she was willing to endure to live in that situation. I think she needs her fathers approval, and is willing to put up with a lot to get it."

"And again, how does this involve me?" Tori asked.

"Again, because you're as into her as she is into you." Trina replied.

"Not you too." Tori groaned.

"Really?" Sam asked. "You're sure their into each other?"

"I am now." Trina said. "Cat spelled out a good argument while trying to convince Jade, and I can vouch for Tori's feelings. So the question is, how do we get them together?"

"We don't. You did your part, you made them aware of their feelings. Now it's up to one of them to act." Sam said with a lot of confidence.

"You've been through this?" Trina asked.

"Cat, you remember Freddy? I worked with him for years, never getting along, then one day I realized I'd fallen for the dork. My friend figured it out, and tried to help, but that just made a mess of things. In the end, it was up to us to decide if we could date or not. And at the time, we did, and it was a disaster. We were too different." Sam paused for a moment, lost in her memories, then refocused and started again. "Now, I'm not who I was back then, and neither is he. There's always a chance for us in the future. However, and I mean this, Tori seems to have a lot more in common with Jade then Fredbags and I did at the time."

"So?" Tori asked. She'd been quiet for a while, taking in what the other girls were saying. She was a lot calmer now.

"You should probably spend the next few days thinking about what you want from Jade. Imagine what it would be like to be her girlfriend, the good and the bad, and then imagine what you'd feel if she started dating someone else, like that Cece scank Cat was bitching about. What a bitch, right?" Sam said.

"Cece's my friend." Tori said.

"Then you'd know what a bitch she was." Sam said, not missing a beat. "Anyways, this isn't about her, she was just a convenient grunch. This is about you thinking about if you're willing to take the first step and ask her out." Sam said. "Jade that is, unless you want to nail the Cece first. Cat said she was easy."

Trina was in the process of rolling her eyes, not willing to try and correct Sam about Cece, when a voice echoed in her ear. "She's right." She, Trina and Cat all jumped.

"Sinjin!" they all shouted, just out of unison.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"This boy in our class, gave us these communicators for us to stay in contact while I was talking to Jade." Cat explained.

"And who I though was out of range." Tori added.

"Nope, just accidentally turned off my mike. I thought you guys were ignoring me for a while there, but then I noticed the mike was off." He said. "And before you ask, you guys have a half mile range. I'm at a tower, and could talk with any one of you from across the city."

Trina and Cat removed their ear pieces immediately. Cat told Sam what Sinjin said, and Tori secretly kept hers in. She had her reasons, mostly to find out what the lanky boys opinion of Cat's theory was. Sam insisted on using one of the earpieces.

"Yo, techi boy, I have a question for ya." Sam said, getting used to the earpiece.

"The name's Sinjin, and who are you?" The boy asked.

"Not important, and I'm Sam, Cats roommate and the girl who's going to hunt you down if I don't get my answer. Okay?" Sam said.

"Okaaaay, whatcha need?" He replied. Sam may be as scary as Jade, but wasn't nearly as intimidating.

"You told Cat that you could reach any earpiece from anywhere in the city, right?" Sam asked.

"Yep." He relied, sounding proud.

"Then why didn't you rig the whole thing to relay, giving yourself greater range for all the people involved. Don't tell me it was for privacy, since you're basically on an open frequency, at least as far as the various connected earpieces are concerned. So why didn't you?" Sam asked.

"I-I didn't think of that." He replied.

"How did you think of it?" Tori asked.

"I don't know. It's chiz I remember from listening to Fredward babble on and on about his tech stuff. I guess I picked some stuff up." Sam said, managing to look embarrassed.

"Okay, moving on. Trina, as much as I'm enjoying the visit, time for us to go home. Sam, it was nice to see you again. Cat, I'll see you at school. Bye." With that, the Vega's left. Tori had with a lot to think about.

Tori spent the entire drive home asking Sinjin his opinion. The lanky boy agreed with most of the points Cat had made, but felt that jade needed a more understanding hand to guide her to happiness. Someone like him. "She'd gut you like a fish and use your entrails to decorate your replacements locker." Tori observed.

"Then I totally agree." Sinjin said. "You should give yourself a chance to figure out if Jade's worth the hunt. If she is, and the price you'll pay for sating her, then go for it. I suspect that Jade could make you very happy. I just feel that maybe, her or Trina, one of them is going to be my woman."

"Yea," Tori said, "Keep dreaming. But look on the bright side, your family has cash. You'll wind up with someone."

Tori was left with a lot to think about. After that disastrous intervention, Tori was worried that Jade would take things the wrong way. Or the right way. Tori wasn't sure about anything, but knew somehow she had to act quickly to countermeasure the idea's Cat had planted in Jade's mind. Tori didn't want to think about why she acted the way she did, because that would just be admitting that, after the things she did and the actions she took, she'd left a lot of damage in her wake. Beck, Jade, they were both hurting from her attempts to help. Even Robbie, who was outed by Cat, was still indirectly her fault. So Tori focused on what she could do and ignored her growing sense of guilt.

By Friday things were starting to take on a different shape at school. Rumors abound of how Jade was treating the shruggers. She apparently scouted dozens of locations after dropping Cat off, because her groups were already shooting. They'd do some rehearsing, but any scene that didn't require much preparation was being shot, on location, now. Jade was working on one scene per day, and from what the shruggers were saying, she was pushing them to the emotional limit.

It seems, from what Beck was able to get out of one shrugger, Jade would interrogate them about their motivation for a scene, drawing out who they thought the character was, and then would shout encouragement at them between takes. Things like "You said you were angry, and she's trying to say she's sorry. How would the character react? Feel it. Live it. And Clare, If your really sorry, then feel sorry. Live the emotions. We need the conflicting emotions to pop on screen." The funny thing was, if two actors playing the same character had different motivations, she pushed them for better performances based on their motivations.

But it was Friday, and the shruggers were looking forward to getting that days scene done so they could hit the parties. Tori heard that Jade promised them she would "pull their drunken asses out of the parties if they didn't get some stuff done today." So they were rehearsing for Saturdays big shoot. Jade seemed to be filming the whole thing one scene at a time, and was keeping notes so she knew who was in what emotional state for each scene.

Beck, meanwhile, hadn't even chosen a single location. The group was confident they were learning their lines, ready for when they started shooting. The whole thing was being approached like a play, with everything being done in order and rehearsed until they were ready. It wasn't how movies were made, but it was what they were used to. All that would change next week when they started filming. Until they were ready for the filming, they were keeping it familiar.

But there was a lot more going on than just the filming of their projects. Jade was back, and in rare form. People were talking about an incident that illustrated the girls new drive. Story went that one of her shuggers was talking to his girlfriend, and Jade walked up to them and inserted herself in the conversation. It was Jade's way of making sure the girl knew where they'd be shooting on Saturday. "Your not only welcome to drop by, but encouraged to. I could use the help, and you could spend time with Curtis here between takes. Doesn't that sound fun? You will be there, right?" Jade was her usual intimidating self, recruiting her film crew through the friends and relations of her cast.

Not only was Jade back, but the school was seeing her, understanding her, to the point where some of them felt bad for how they'd treated her. Or maybe they were scared. There was a new stencil on her locker. It was in the same bright red as the previous taggings, but this time the paint was water soluble. And the message was clear, if not to why, then to what. It simply said "Sorry." Jade ignored it, while the rest of the school debated as to if this was the same person or someone new was getting involved. One person even speculated it was Beck, trying to win points from his ex now that they knew she never slept with Robbie.

The puppeteer was also living a strange shift in popularity. A lot of the guys who'd been trying to be his friends had only been trying because they thought he'd nailed Jade, even if he'd paid for it. Now, these same guys were picking on him. Of course, that didn't last long, since Jade made it very clear that she was out for blood, and anyone picking on her family or friends was automaticaly on her short list. Now that she was back, these guys didn't want to risk what had happened to Scotty Pierson.. However, for Robbie, with the loss of one social group came others. He was now a part of several groups, including a sort of return to the main people. He was hanging out with different groups, the nerds, the Slap people, guys who had sisters attending the school, and each group offered him shelter. Robbie was happy to be so accepted. Tori was glad to see the nerdy boy back in what was obviously more comfortable surroundings.

:}

Thank the gods for backup computers.

Not much to say beyond this. Review. Let me know what you think of Jades new drive, and her approach to filming. Or anything about this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13 meeting at a party

Disclaimer. I don't own the root material. Victorious and it's characters aren't mine. I always return them more or less in the condition I found them. Don't sue.

Warning, characters may be a bit OOC. Let me know.

:}

That evening, Tori was at another party. Many people would be amazed at how many parties she was invited to. Even back when she was at Sherwood, there were always parties for her to attend. It was more than just the occasional get together or chance to cut loose, it was a ritual or indulgence where she could get drunk every weekend without facing too many consequences. Trina taught her how to be safe, and helped look after her, but Tori had to be aware of the predators who stalked these parties. Predators who often wore team uniforms, or sold drugs. Boys who looked for pretty girls and offered them as much as they could drink. Guys who were looking for sex with no strings attached. Guys like the ones trying to chat her up right now.

"Look, guys, I'm the designated driver, so I'm not drinking. Thanks for the offer, but I need to check in with my friends now. They want to make sure I'm sober." Tori lied through her teeth. She wasn't drinking tonight because these guys were here. 'No alcohol, watch my drink at all times, never be alone with any of these guys.' Tori checked off her safety list. She worked her way through the crowd, using the dancing kids to peel the pervy guys off her long enough to find her friends.

Cece was drunk. 'Lets see, it's only, ' glances at her phone, ten thirty three, so there was no reason for her to be so wasted, Tori thought. "But there she is, drunk as I've ever seen her, except for that one time where she passed out. But she's not too far away from there now.' Tori needed advice, so she joined her friends to find her sister was out of it too. 'This is bad. Trina's drunk, and she's the real designated driver. Lets see,' glances at Trina's bottle, taking a quick sniff, 'soda, so how?...' Tori took a second to ask, but everyone swore Trina was just having fun, and that she'd been nursing that bottle of soda for a while now. 'This is bad. Red flag, what to do?'

Tori then took the time to survey the party. A lot of girls were starting to act hammered, and Tori wondered why. 'Lets see, Trina was among our friends, so her guard would be down. These people wouldn't hurt her, would look out for her. That would make it easy for someone to slip something into her soda bottle, and she'd never guess it wad happening. My god, has Trina been roofied?' Tori looked around the party again, watching as the dancing was slowing down. 'It looks like many of the more attractive girls are drunk, or more likely drugged. Something needs to be done, before we have a lot of tragedies here tonight.' Having decided she needed to do something, Tori took out her phone again, and texted Gary. They had an understanding, so he wouldn't judge her, just come and help. And she needed this party raided now.

Shortly after she sent the text, Tori addressed her sober friends. "Okay people, we've got someone drugging the girls. Since it's the more attractive one's, we can assume they are targeting people, and it's not just someone spiked the punch. This means we have to look out for one another. I need those of you who aren't drunk to keep an eye on those who are. Trina's wasted, so Carl, keep her safe. No one gets raped on our watch, okay?"

The small group of friends agreed. "Mark, help Carl. Dave, your and sue are with me. We're gonna go see who else we can save. And be ready, cause I called my godfather." Tori then led her two volunteers back into the party, secure in the knowledge that her friends knew who her godfather was. The police were coming. They wandered through the party, grabbing any friend they could find who was out of it, and sending that friend back to their little corner with Sue. That's when she found Jade.

The goth was drinking water, and seemed okay, but the predators were still circling her. Jade, with her beauty and attitude, was the holy grail for some of these guys, and they weren't going to just let her slip through their fingers. One would try to distract her so another could slip something into her drink. They tried that several times, but Jade just wasn't falling for it. Tori tried to cut through the crowd to get to her sometimes friend, as the predators, guys who had some looks, but didn't want to put in the work, switched tactics.

The guys were trying to use their bodies, and their positioning, to cut jade out of the party. They were trying to move her over to an area where where the kids were already pretty much out of it. Jade was looking around, trying to find an escape, while shifting her stance. Tori knew from her stage fighting class that Jade now looked like she was getting ready to hurt someone. It was in the stance. Despite the goths obvious discomfort and readiness to commit violence, Jade seemed more interested in staying near a couple of people, her friends, while avoiding confrontation. One of the people was a mildly attractive blond who looked like she'd already succumbed to the drugs. As Tori worked her way closer, she kinda recognized them from her class. Sikowirtz's class. Tori realized 'Jade's here with a couple of shruggers.! Jade's trying to protect them!' It was obvious that Jade was trying to protect herself, and these two, from the machinations of these predatory boys who just wanted to take. 'These guys are persistent. Jade's getting wazzed. Only a matter of time before someone's gonna bleed. How do I make sure Jade's not the one left hurting?'

Just as violence seemed imminent, with jade's muscles tensing and the boys circling, a strange hush seemed to descend upon the party. For just the shortest of seconds, Tori felt she was too late, and the music had stopped so people could watch the fight. It looked like violence was about to happen when a hush descended on the party. 'The music stopped!?' Thats when it hit her, this wasn't about a fight. Something was happening. Looking around, she saw the mass of frozen bodies start to move again. Only this time, they were trying to escape.

Glancing over to where the DJ booth had been set up, she saw the reason as her godfather made his way there. Gary had arrived with as many uniforms as he could gather on short notice. Later Tori would realize that the gathered officers weren't in consistent uniforms, a sign that he'd gotten help at a police bar rather than just calling for backup, but they were still the law, and this party was over. "Okay, we're not here to bust anyone for drinking, but that stops now. We are here because we heard rumors of date rape drugs being used. We'll be checking the drinks, and if there's signs of any shenanigans, we'll be searching everyone until we find who's responsible." Gary's voice cut through the party, and like that the partiers knew why so many of the girls were so 'drunk'.

The guys who were behind the whole thing tried to flee, attempting to mix into the crowd. Jade wasn't having it,, and grabbed one, starting to tussle, getting an officers attention. Jade was quickly arrested, but so was the boy. Both were searched as part of their arrest, and they found a several small vials on the guy. One quick test later, and it was confirmed that this was a date rape drug. With that quick field test, the police started searching for his friends. Tori and a few others started describing the guys they'd suspected were doping all the girls, and soon his friends were being identified and rounded up.

'Oh my god, when does Jade West sacrifice herself for others?' Tori wondered. Jade had, in effect, gotten herself arrested so that the guy would be arrested too, and in doing so, made it far less likely the police would treat this as a maybe crime, and start treating it as a serious threat to the community. In short Jade had sacrificed herself so the predators couldn't all escape. When arrested, Jade didn't resist, and while she protested that she was just helping out, she didn't give them anything else to arrest her for during the process of her being cuffed and led out to the car. As for the guys who'd been rufying all the girls, despite the efforts of the police and a few partiers, some would make it out, but now it would be that much harder for them to drug girls at the next party. 'We'll be looking for them.' Tori thought.

The next thing that happened, while the police were searching the house, was they found one of the guys in a bedroom, with a girl who couldn't have been over sixteen, drugged to the point where she didn't know which direction was up. The police threw a blanket over the two, and over his protests that she was his girlfriend, they arrested him. The police found a vial that had once contained the drug in his pants. The charges got a lot more serious then, as they led him out of the house and upped the charges against the others.

As Jade was sitting in one of the police cars, handcuffed and mirandized, Tori walked over to see if she was okay. "Jade, you didn't have to do that." The Latina told her.

"Yea I did. I wasn't drinking tonight, but I could have been. These guys were out to have me, and I was just letting them know that they were going to pay a heavy price for it. Next time I see them, I'm taking one or more of them down." Jade growled.

"But you've been arrested. You're going to stand trial." Tori told her.

"No one got hurt, so most likely I'm facing community service, maybe a fine. Only real regret is the day of filming I'm gonna miss." Jade said, looking just a touch forlorn. "So Tori, did you have a chance to think about what Cat was saying?"

"No, why?" Tori asked. The change of subject was almost dizzying. 'Which thing Cat was saying? Is Jade talking about Cats crazy theory that Jade's into me?' Tori thought, her heart beating just a bit harder at the thought.

"Do you think she's right? That maybe we should be dating?" Jade asked. The question sounded strange, like Jade was trying to make sense of things, trying it out so she'd know how it sounded, felt.

"Are you asking me out?" Tori said.

"Wasn't, but after I've been in the joint, it would probably be a something I'd be into." Jade's joke fell flat.

"Ha ha" Tori said. "Do you need me to call you mother?"

"Yea, that would probably save me some time. Delay the yelling a bit too. So how's your sister. I heard she was one of the girls who got rufied." It was an odd question for her to hear from Jade. Jade usually didn't care about Trina, but this was showing concern for the older Vega, and that sense of caring made Tori think that maybe Jade should be asking her out. At the very least, Tori was more receptive to it, if Jade chose to ask.

"She's fine, but pretty out of it. Luckily she was just drinking soda. That's lesson the side effects. But it means I have to drive us home, or get Gary to have someone do it." Tori said. 'If she asked me out, I'll say yes. It doesn't mean anything, but I'm willing to entertain the notion, IF she asks me out.' Tori decided. While the moment seemed so close, Jade would be taken to jail without Asking Tori on a date.

By midnight, Tori was home again, and Trina was safely in bed. Once again, their parents wouldn't be home in time to have done anything about it if they'd been sexually assaulted. Tori did ask Gary to keep her in the loop about what happened to those boys. It would be days before she found anything out, but Gary did tell her one thing. "There's been a rise in drug related rapes lately, and we've been thinking there was some kind of ring. Now we can see that there was, and if we're lucky, these guys will match the rape kits from the previous groups we've had." Tori wanted them gone. Guys like that made the parties dangerous. Even if you were with someone, they could strike. It was scary.

By Saturday morning, Jade texted her letting her know she was out. The judge gave her a light sentence, since she was more vigilantly than brawler. Ironically, instead of community service she was sentenced to go one a couple of police ride-along's. The judge felt that she'd learn a lot more from that than working at the morgue. Especially when they discovered Jade volunteered at the morgue often enough to start worrying the staff there. Still, Jade was out early enough to film a couple more scenes of her project. Tori wondered who would draw the short straw and have Jade riding in their car. "Thank god detectives don't do ride-along's" she thought.

Tori called her Father. "Dad, quick question. Do detectives ever take people along on ride-along's?"

"Nope, we don't patrol, so we're not asked to show people what we do. Why? Is it about that girl who tried to wrestle the perp at that party you were at?" David Vega asked. It was surprising to Tori that her father even knew about the party, and she worried for just one second that he would punish her. But her hopes were dashed a moment later. "It's all the guys at the precinct are talking about. Do you realize how hard it is to catch guys like these? Rape's hard enough to prove, but when you've got them drugged and unable to identify anybody, and they might not even realize they've been raped for a couple of days, it's hard to gather any evidence. Now they're facing some serious time, and with any luck this will stop others from doing the same thing."

"So your going to be able to put them away for a long long time?" Tori asked her father.

"Accessory to over a dozen rapes and probably twice that many attempted rapes? Their facing a dozen years, minimum." He replied. "Of course, some of them are from good families, so the DA may offer them deals. It's the way things work. It makes me sick to think of all the budding criminals from good families who get away with shit just because the law doesn't treat them like criminals." He started. Tori tuned him out there, not wanting to listen to another one of his long rants, even if it was an important one.

It was later, as they were heading out to another party, that Tori thought about what almost happened. She didn't like the thought that someone had broken through her little circles, the layer of precautions, and almost did something vile to her sister. Still, the crisis was averted, and they needed to blow off steam. 'Just follow the rules, make sure your with people you can trust, and you'll be fine.' She told herself as they headed towards the party. For safety reasons they'd chosen a party where they knew the host, and many of the kids were friends, or at least friends of the family. Also, they needed someone to watch over Trina, since the older girl wasn't fully recovered from the drug. They had friends there who'd keep an eye on her.

Tori normally didn't like going to parties at Cops houses. There was a heightened risk of getting caught, and if there wasn't, they were dealing with truly freaky people who weren't safe to be around anyways. This was different. The hosts were a couple of girls they'd known for a long time, family and personal friends, and while their father was overprotective, he was also out of town. All they had to worry about was crashers. Everyone else invited were people they'd partied with before, people they knew were cool, and so they were people they knew they could trust. It meant a slightly boring party, since you could guess all the hookups, but safety was on everyone's mind.

However, as usual, it was only guys who were considered a threat, so there were a few girls who'd been invited with only a cursory 'She's okay' before they were let in. No one got in unless someone was able to vouch for them, but for girls the lever of responsibility got lower. Thus there were a couple of girls there as dates to guys who people knew were cool, and a couple more who's presence was the final payment for letting 'Cool enough' guys in, proving they were trustworthy enough for some girl who wasn't dating them to be willing to go to this party with them. No guy would be given that level of trust on just one person vouching for them. They needed to prove they were safe, and bringing a girl who was hot along was often proof that they were at the very least tolerable. These guys were still watched, and more then on guy from the social group would watch. But the added girls did make the party just a touch more interesting.

The party was the usual level of interaction, with everyone talking about the rape ring. Most of the boys were as disgusted as the girls. Many were the families of cops, and had at one point or another heard how bad it was for the victims. Still others were learning. Some of the guys were even giving each of the unknown guys an extra once over, while keeping an eye on any girl they considered friends. Despite that, the partiers were managing to relax, have fun. Even Trina, forced to drink soda again because the drug needed more time to be fully out of her system (Sometimes several days), managed to find someone willing to hang out with.

Tori saw someone she knew, someone she'd probably have vouched for, but hadn't, at the party. He was one of the shruggers, and he was apparently the friend of a friend of the hosts. He'd managed to convince a couple of guys that he was safe, and even brought along a hot girl as proof that he was all right. Tori spotted him first, unable for the life of her to remember his name even though he was in several of her classes, so she walked closer to see about striking up a conversation. Instead she overheard him talking to the guy who'd vouched for him. The shrugger mentioned his friend, and how she was doing this so he could meet nice, safe people. "I can't believe a hottie on that level was willing to come with just so you could meet people, but hey, if she thinks your on the up and up, I guess we should give you the benefit of the doubt."

Several people would echo the assessment of how attractive this girl was. Tori realized that if this girl was as attractive as several of the guys were saying, she may need to go help out. They were cops kids, so probably wouldn't do anything against her will, but that didn't change the fact that they were guys. A pretty girl with big tits, and they forget that they have morals.

It took Tori all of ten minutes to find the circle of guys trying to get the attention of this new girl. Guys offering her drinks, trying to impress her with their stories of personal accomplishments, and telling her that 'Cops and their families get the best drugs.' Guys who were, probably unintentionally, treating her like fresh meet at the lions enclosure at the zoo. Tori went in for the rescue, just to let this girl know the guys were harmless. To let the girl know that she didn't have to do anything with them if she didn't want to. But when she got to the center of all the attention, she found herself face to face with Jade.

"Well, this is awkward." Tori started. "Look, Jade, I'm not sure why your here, but the guys, they won't try anything unless you're willing. FYI." Then turning to the guys, many of whom she kinda knew "This is Jade, a good friend. Treat her with respect, Okay." The guys kinda nodded, but Tori couldn't give them her full attention. Jade was speaking.

"Vega, how is it I keep running into you?" Jade's reply wasn't as cold as it sounded. Jade seemed more curious than upset.

"Donno. Dumb luck?" Tori said. 'Damn, I was pushing my shoulders back. Don't be so flirty, Tori.' The chided herself. 'I wonder how many guys saw that, and how many assumed it was for them?'

"Sooo, you know everybody?" Jade asked.

"Not really, but you can't get into this party unless someone vouches for you, so I'm guessing you're all right." Tori said.

"I have breasts, and that's all the vouching I needed. God Tori, wake up and smell the testosterone. The guys are hoping to get laid, even the good ones. I'll bet our hosts are watching, trying to figure out which of us is more likely to put out." Jade said, huffing towards the end.

"Out hosts are the Crawford sisters, and I don't think either of them are into girls. Of course, according to Cat, you might be the cure for that." Tori said. 'Stupid stupid stupid. Next time, just stick your tits out.' Tori almost missed what Jade said next. Almost, but the way Jade said it made missing it impossible.

"Yea, about that, I think, if your into it, maybe we could hang out. Kinda like we've done from time to time. Only this time, if you're willing, and we don't have to, but we might call it, you know, a date." Jade almost mumbled.

"Man, for such a direct person, you certainly took the long way getting there." Tori said.

"You know what, forget it!" Jade's voice was a lot stronger. The goth was already turning, getting ready to leave.

"No way, no take backs. You asked, and I'd be delighted to go out with you." Tori said, reaching out to grab Jade's arm. 'Please don't be mad, I need this arm, if only long enough to get you to look at me again.' She thought as she turned the goth to face her.

"I didn't say anything about going out. I said a date. We seem to do better when we stay in." Jade shot back. However, she didn't try and dislodge Tori's hand from her arm.

"I'm getting tired of playing host. Maybe we could hang out at your place?" Tori asked. She felt awkward holding Jade's shoulder, so dropped her hand. 'Talk now, touch later.' She told herself.

"Sure, but we'd better call it a date. My father's still wazzed at you for telling everyone Robbie's my brother." Jade said.

"And he'd be cool with us dating?" Tori asked.

"No, but sometimes he just needs to be pushed, so he remembers I'm still his kid." Jade replied.

"You have such a sweet relationship with your dad." Tori said, sarcasm dripping from her words.

"Tori, I'm not sure why I'm doing this, just I can't stop thinking about what Cat said. Maybe this will be a disaster, but I'm willing to try it." Jade was nervous. The girl still felt wrapped in secrets, and for some reason felt the need to keep talking after Tori had already agreed to date her. "I'm lonely." She almost whispered, her voice so soft the sounds of the party seemed to smother it. Tori only caught it because she'd been leaning in, unconsciously moving closer.

:}

So what do you thinks gonna happen? I'm thinking the guys are gonna get a show. A rated strong g to PG show. But then again, I'm just the writer. What do I know.

Yea, Jade's a bit OOC. She's changing. I'm gonna have to see how she reacts though the rest of this story. I'm thinking she's got her mojo back, but she's trying to keep her people happy. Happy workers make better workers. But I could be wrong. Thoughts, opinions, and I'm still waiting on that great oatmeal cookie recipe. But I'll take a review or twelve.


	14. Chapter 14 Prelude to a date

Disclaimer: Still don't own victorious or any of it's characters. If anyone does, please explain why a hit show was ended when it had at least another year left in it.

:}

~~~Last time~~~

"Tori, I'm not sure why I'm doing this, just I can't stop thinking about what Cat said. Maybe this will be a disaster, but I'm willing to try it." Jade was nervous. The girl was wrapped in secrets, and for some reason felt the need to keep talking after Tori had already agreed to date her. "I'm lonely." She almost whispered, her voice so soft the sounds of the party seemed to smother it. Tori only caught it because she'd been leaning in, unconsciously moving closer.

~~~And Now.~~~

"Kiss her." Tori heard. The call was coming from some guy hidden within the circle. Soon it was echoed by others, and a chant started. Tori noticed a couple of the guys she'd known since diapers were among the chanters. Not willing to just sit and take it, she reached for Jade's hand. It was time to move to a more private setting.

Meanwhile, Jade wasn't in the mood for those guys, and leveled her darkest glare at them. The look cut through the alcohol, the testosterone, even the group think, and the chant slowed to a stop. Jade smirked, only to be yanked away by her hand. She moved to brace herself, but when she saw it was Tori, she just went with it as the Latina dragged her deeper into the party. Unsure of what to do and drowning in her nerves, Jade warred with herself about her next choice, but let herself be dragged along while she made up her mind. Then she was in the basement, at a couch in some kind of family room with only a coupe of other couples. Tori sat her down, then took the seat next to her, still holding her hand. The Latina took that moment to lean in and take Jade's lips in a soft but firm kiss.

Tori had to get Jade away from the guys before something happened. 'I just got a date with her, can't let her get scared away.' She thought. Looking around, she moved downward towards the basement. They had a sitting room down there, and it was occupied mostly by couples looking to make out, but not go too far. There were people who'd interfere if someone started struggling, or ignored protests, and Tori felt it was the place to continue this conversation. Quiet, sparsely occupied, but with good people about. Tori sat Jade down, and somehow during that action, managed to make the first move. 'So why the fuck did I kiss her?'

Already in too deep, Tori took the lead and started peppering Jade's face and neck with quick kisses, moving to under her ear then back towards her lips. Once there, The singer licked Jade's lower lip, asking for permission to take it further. Jade's mouth opened, and Tori's tongue slid in. They were now deep in the make out session, and Tori was on top, her hands starting to wander.

That's where Jade stopped it. She grabbed Tori's wrists and with one quick motion Jade flipped their positions. The actress moved back to kissing, this time becoming the dominant one, but kept the petting to Tori's back and sides, and outside her shirt. Jade kept going, kissing and nipping at her friends skin, around the tanned face and neck. Finally, as the drive to express her lust starting to get to strong, Jade broke the kiss and sat back. Tori was lying there, looking so ready.

"I-I don't put out this early." Jade told her, panting. It was kinda out of the blue, but Tori understood. They were getting a little hot, and the goth needed to be clear.

"I know, we haven't been on a date yet." Tori said through broken breaths. Still worked up, she tried to focus on talking.

"If you don't count the time Sikowitz forced us to." Jade said, smiling. "I swear, when you said I was pretty, I was almost grateful for Tweedleloser and his boyfriend showing up." Jade confessed. Tori wanted to ask why, hurt starting to show on her face. "Make no mistake, that was your moment. If you'd turned my head, you could have kissed me, and what followed would have been a very different story. You'd be the one accusing me of fucking Robbie." Hurt was seeping into Jade's voice now, so Tori leaned up and kissed her nose.

"Okay, it's our second date." Tori smirked.

"Then there was that time we drove Cat to San Diego. Not a traditional date, but it kinda counts." Jade said. 'I should really get off her, let her sit up.' the goth thought.

"Really? You're going to count that one? Should we count all out misadventures? Were we dating when we were stuck in that cupcake?" Tori asked, almost frustrated. She started to unconsciously caress Jade's arm.

"Nope. I just count times when we were functionally alone, or could grow closer. That time we made pizza, the trip to San Diego, the date for the play, those two reports we did together, and the time we sat in your hot tub playing 'Anywhere but here.'" Jade said.

"Six dates in and I don't even get a feel?" Tori joked. Seeing the look on Jade's face, she changed tactics. "Okay, lets accept a few things before we go any further. First, we need to get past a lot of chiz from the whole recent cheating scandal. I overreacted, people got hurt, and we need to be sure of what were doing before we get in too deep. I just got you, and I don't want to lose you because I did things wrong." Tori recovered her arm, slowly sitting up, but discreetly making sure she was still facing Jade and had room to lie back. She still hoped they'd make better use of that couch.

"Vega, calm down. I don't put out because I feel we need a chance to really get to know each other. You know, date a while, be sure of our feelings, that kind of chiz. We may end up fucking in a month, or it could take a lot longer." Jade said, looking Tori in the eye. "As for clearing the air, I think we hurt each other. And if I'm honest, I'm only doing this, risking dating you, because I no longer have anywhere safe to hide. Beck was my security blanket, and now that's gone. I did it, I drove him away, you only fucked the blanket afterwords to make sure he didn't come back to me."

"Now I feel more guilty." Tori said, wrapping her arms around Jade's neck. "I fucked Beck to keep him from going back to you, and now I have a chance with you. I feel like shit." Seeing Jade start to say something, she added "I feel like shit, because it feels like I was sabotaging your relationship."

"Too late, we did it to ourselves first. You still need to fix things with Beck, but that's your business. As for us, I know we have so much hurt between us, and I suspect a lot of what I felt was my reaction to how incredible you are." Jade smiled, but shifted her hands to better support her weight. Tori was pulling her closer, trying to get them in position for dry humping. 'God I hope she's unaware of what she's doing, I don't need the complications yet. Please, Tori, give me an out.' Jade thought. "You've always been the threat, right there to take away everything I've worked so hard for. You took my heart, and I couldn't do a thing about it. I hated being so vulnerable." Jade purred the last part.

"Okay, I can respect that." Tori said, shifting so she wasn't so under Jade's. Her hand retreated to just holding the other girls hand. "So, you feel lonely, right?"

"Yep." Jade replied, watching Tori carefully.

"That why you're hanging with the shruggers?" The singer asked.

"Part of my master plan to turn them into A list actors." Jade said. "Or B list. The point is, I tried my old methods, and wasn't getting anywhere. Turns out, it's harder then I thought to scare people into a great performance. And I need the best I can get out of them. To get that performance, I needed to know what motivates them. So I've had to start socializing with them, just spending a little time, so they think I like them. Well, you don't have to like them, but you need to believe they can give that great performance. Its a contract between the director and the actor. If they don't have that belief, then the project, the film, suffers. So I've been helping them out to help me believe I believe in them." The whole concept was making Tori's head spin. She didn't need to find something now to like about Jade. "Also, by giving them the gift of support now, they build their confidence, as opposed to me just doing whatever."

"Let's dance." Tori said, out of nowhere. She needed to change the subject.

"You feel the need to shake it?" Jade asked, smiling.

"I'm trying to respect your boundaries. If we stay here much longer, I'm going to do things to you that you may regret later." Tori replied, standing up and offing Jade her hand again. "Besides, I don't need witnesses for our first time."

"I hear that." Jade replied. They went to the dance floor and enjoyed themselves.

Later, Tori got home around one in the morning, somewhat grumpy. Trina was laughing about something. The older girl had been wazzed that she couldn't drink, but it was dangerous for her until the drug was completely out of her system. Trina had still enjoyed herself, talking to some of the others about her plans for the summer, and where she was going to go to school. One of the boys had asked her out, so that night Trina had a lot to be happy about. Tori, however, was drunk, horny as hell, and in desperate need of a plan. That need had caused her to push, get their first date done. She could have waited, but wanted their date to happen as soon as possible. Sunday night, family dinner, and Tori was going to spend it with Jade.

Sunday dragged as Tori got ready for the evening that she hoped would help move her closer to Jade. As much as she wanted to screw Jade until the actress couldn't remember Becks name, she knew she was playing the long game. Jade would be hers soon enough. 'Tonight, I win the love and support of Jade' family. It won't be easy, but when I'm done, her father and mother and.. What is Robbie's mom to her? Whatever, hopefully they'll be in full support of my dating their daughter. After all, there's so much to learn about her, them.' Tori thought with a small smile.

But that was dinner, and Tori needed to get through her day first. Her thoughts, the what if's, were slipping past her positive attitude, and driving her crazy. Tori realized needed something to do to keep her occupied until the date, so she invited the gang over for an impromptu pool party. To avoid hurting Jade's feelings, Tori decided to call it a cast meeting for their project group. "I seriously doubt you're going to get much work done." Trina scolded her, but didn't complain too much. It was a chance to relax by the pool and enjoy themselves.

When asked to come, Robbie was a little nervous, despite Tori assuring him everyone was cool with him now. "Is Cat going to be there?" He'd asked. It still seemed to come down to that redhead for her friend.

"Of course, and her roommate." Tori told him. She'd had to invite Sam, the blond was Cats ride. So soon they had eight kids sitting around the pool, drinking pink lemonade, and having a good time. Tori took this as a chance to do some information gathering.

"So Robbie, I was wondering, what's Jade told your parents?" Tori asked him.

"Tori, please, don't drag me into the middle of this. My father's wazzed enough at me for you guys telling everyone about Jade. It was a family secret." The nerdy boy protested, but not as vehemently as he could have. "Just let it drop. I'm not involved in this anymore." He sighed. "Thanks, by the way."

"For?" She asked.

"Getting Jade focused on the project. She's not hurting herself as much now." He said.

"She's still hurting herself?" Tori almost shouted.

"Kinda. She works long hours to make sure she gets everything, and that's on top of her chores. I think the way she pushes herself is kinda abusive." He started. "And she'll give herself half of a meal if she thinks she didn't get enough done. It's kinda scary sometimes."

"That's gonna change reel soon." Tori promised, both to the nerdy boy and herself.

"Good luck with that." Robbie said. Now in need of more answers, as well as somehow to clear the air a bit, Tori sought out Beck. She found him hanging with the shrugger assigned to their group, sitting with their feet in the pool, talking. The girl was enjoying Becks attention, and he was enjoying her not expecting anything from him. Tori assumed They were talking about the project, and what she could do to help.

"And so, there I was, in my underwear, running to catch up with my own truck before she made it off the dirt road and onto the highway." Beck was saying. "All because Jade was mad at me for insisting we go skinny dipping when she hadn't had a chance to shower. I mean, she was going to get clean anyways, but she hated us doing anything naked when she was feeling insecure. And if I missed the signs, then I had to deal with the consequences." He was laughing, somehow not traumatized by the goth girls often extreme reactions. "Later, we went back for my cloths. Only cost me a coffee." He said, flashing that smile of his that made the girls swoon. This girl just laughed and nodded.

"Beck, is it cool if I talk to you for a second?" Tori asked.

"Sure. I was trading stories with Tiff here, you know, Ex stories that we once thought weren't funny, but now kinda are." He smiled again. The girl, who Tori had seen in various classes since she'd started at Hollywood Arts, but before the protect never knew her name, didn't move.

"It's kinda private." Tori hinted.

"Is it about you hooking up with Jade?" Tiff asked.

"Oh my Fucking God, how did you hear about it?" Tori almost screamed. It took her all her willpower not to make a bigger scene. 'I mean, it happened last night. What, did Jade post pictures?' Tori held her rising panic, waiting to see how Beck reacted.

"You hooked up with Jade?" Beck asked. His mellow attitude melted before them.

"We just talked, made out a little. Maybe I tried to feel her tits, but she wasn't having that." Tori said. At Becks disapproving look, she explained. "I was drunk, we were making out, these things happen." She tried to keep her guilt in check. 'God I hope he doesn't do anything rash.' She thought.

"So you hooked up with Jade?" He said, less angry, but still hurt. "Was that the plan all along? I though you were on my side..." He was starting to get worked up.

"That's not, I mean, please let me explain." Tori tried, giving Tiff the evil eye.

The shrugger smirked back at Tori, looking proud of herself. "According to Jim, you and her were making out last night. He said you did it in front of a bunch of guys, and didn't seem to care who saw you, so I don't know why you'd be upset if I told Beck here." Tiff said, in response. Tori was starting to think of this girl as the new face of evil.

"Look, Tiffany, I was going to tell him about that, but kinda in my own way. We have enough drama in out recent past, so I'd appreciate it if you would let me explain things to Beck." Tori said. 'Stupid fucking shruggers, of course they'd talk to each other.' She thought. This was wazzing her off.

"Then explain." Beck huffed.

"I realized, um, last night, that the reason I was such a bitch about the whole Jade thing was that I was kinda attracted to her." Tori started. "Well, rather, Cat explained it to me, and Jade, back when we convinced her to do the project instead of killing half the school. You know, several days ago. So last night, when we ran into each other, and it was totally random, we kinda agreed to go out on a date. I mean, it was a party for Cops kids and their friends, so who'd have thunk she'd be there. But there she was, surrounded by guys who were hoping she was single, or drunk, or both. Anyways, we were talking, and agreeing to the whole date thing, when the guys started chanting for us to kiss. Naturally, we needed to get away from the noise, so we went someplace more private, and I let the booze take control. Kissing happened, but Jade wouldn't let it get any further, so were taking it slow. And please stop me from babbling on." Tori gave Beck her best apologetic look.

"Lets ignore whatever it is I feel I'm missing, and get to the point where I tell you some advice. Okay?" Beck said, giving Tori a stern look. He was still angry, but seemed to believe Tori. "Your going to have to work to win her trust. She's been hurt, so she's going to need time to open up to you. One thing I can tell you, she still has secrets."

"Like?" Tori asked.

"Don't know. But I'll bet there's at least one that's a doozy." He said. The actor then shifted slightly, giving Tori a week smile. "We're not all right, but if you can help her, be there for Jade the way I never could, then maybe we will be someday." Beck then looked towards Tiff. "We both were burned by our actions dealing with out ex's." He gestured between himself and Tiffany. "That's our bond. Neither of us are ready to date yet, but she does have her eye on Robbie." He smiled as he said that.

"Thanks for the information." Tori said. "Any help for tonight? I'm having dinner with her family."

"You're having dinner? With her family? As a first date?" Beck stammered.

"Seventh, if you believe Jade." Tori watched his eyebrow raise. "She counted everything date-like we've ever done while you two were split up or otherwise not a couple." Tori added in her mind 'If you don't count making Pizza while you were on a man date with Sinjin.' Tori worked to suppress her smirk, forcing it into a full smile. "And she said we had six. So this is out seventh date, and our first real one." Despite feeling better, Tori still felt like she was defending herself.

"And you're having a pool party with her Ex while she's out filming." Tiff said. Tori glared at her, only to remember why she'd come over in the first place. Obviously this girl was not giving any mercy.

"Beck, I do have a question for you that needs to be private." Tori said. 'Little miss judgmental here doesn't need to know this. Besides, she should know I'm not dating Jade for the publicity.' Tori was not happy with their project mate.

"I'll get us refills on the lemonade." Tiff said, standing up. The girl started to walk away, only to pause. "Why's it pink? I've never seen a pink lemon."

"I looked it up on line, there are pink lemons, but most of the time, it's just a splash of a red juice for color." Tori said. Tiff stared at her for a second. "You're not the first person to ask that question." The shrugger did what shruggers do best, shrugging, and heading off to get their drinks.

Once she was gone, Tori turned to Beck, kneeling to get closer, and in a low, serious voice asked. "Do you know Jade hurts herself?'

"I've suspected for a while. But try getting her to admit it. I know it's why she wares some of her long shirts, like it's that cold here in LA. That's also why I'm willing to work at forgiving you. I want Jade to be happy, and she needs to stop using pain as a distraction. It's up to you." Beck smiled at the end, his voice going from hushed to clear.

"Thanks." Tori replied. 'I wonder if he's feeling as guilty as I am over what everyone did to Jade?' Tori thought.

"I never said it would be easy." He said as he stood up, breaking Tori from her thoughts. "Just that someone needs to show her she's allowed to be happy." With that Beck walked towards the house, looking for his lemonade.

:}

Kinda like the way this chapter flowed. Tori's gonna need a lot longer to get past the guilt. Beck, he's smart, not diving into something to mask the pain. But my favorite was Tiffany. Not sure why she gave Tori such a hard time, but lets all enjoy the moment.

So, thoughts? I'm always appreciative of reviews. Also, apparently Google search does include oatmeal cookie recopies. So, comments...


	15. Chapter 15 meeting the family

Disclaimer, I don't own the source material. But I don't hurt the characters, just have them act out in funny ways for my amusement. And thats the only profit I make from this story, amusement.

Warning, thay may not act the way you expect them too.

:}

That evening Tori was busy getting ready. She's texted Jade during the pool party, asking how they'd handle transport, and Jade replied:

Tori -(From Jade) I'll be there around Five thirty. Dinners at Six, and it's best if we don't have to sit around too long before we eat.

Tori took that as a challenge. She had to prove to Mister West, 'Or rather Mister Shapiro', that she was a good choice to date his daughter. There were a lot of obstacles to overcome tonight. The first being the whole dating a girl thing, but an uncomfortably close second was the whole exposing the Shapiro family secret. Tori wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but was willing to pull out all her charm and win over the family. Also, despite his protest that he was staying out of it, Robbie was going to be there.

"Robbie will be there, right?" Trina asked. "I mean, it's possible he does the whole 'Big Love' thing and has the families eat at different tables, living on different floors."

"Trina!" Tori replied sharply. "I don't need this right now." Tori paced a bit, not a good idea since they had fifteen minuted until Jade was supposed to pick her up, and Trina was helping her with last minute adjustments. They'd also been going over strategy, and so Trina had to insert her two cents worth. 'He'd better be there, I need him to vouch for me.' Tori thought.

"At least he won't be telling everyone you're conceited." The older sister said while trying to get the younger girl to sit still long enough for her to finish doing Tori's hair.

"I wish Cat didn't share that." Tori said. That one day in detention, there were a lot of things said and done, but naturally Robbie's little chant was the one thing Cat had to tell Trina. Even the whole Taco retrieval drama was left out in favor of that tidbit.

"Relax. It's not like Jade's on great terms with her father anyways. And think of it this way, Beck was dating her for months before he had dinner with her family." Trina said absentmindedly as she worked on Tori's hair.

"Okay." Tori said. "Just relax. Beck didn't...and how do you know this?" Tori asked her sister. She almost turned her head, but Trina held on to her hair and Tori didn't move. "Ow."

"I overheard Beck telling that girl, his non-date, during the party." Trina replied, focusing on her sisters hair. "He's amazed you got the invite, even after six dates."

"Well, Okay then." Tori said. She settled down to let Trina finish, since she wasn't going to let Trina pull her hair again. Besides, it was kinda nice to have her sister doing her hair. Bonding moments like this were rare. They only did each others hair for special parties, and it felt good to think that Trina thought her date with Jade was special.

It was a few minutes later when Jade showed up. The goth had deliberately showed up five minutes early, and even though Tori was ready to go, she still insisted on coming in and talking to the family. Holly was there to greet her.

"Sooo, where's Mister Vega?" Jade asked.

"Out. He's helping with a case. Is this about the ride along? He told me that detectives don't usually give ride along's, but they can possibly do one after you've finished the three court mandated ones." Holly said.

"Oh, right, sorry. Tori, you ready to go?" Jade asked.

"You look like your going somewhere. I didn't think there were dances on Sundays." Holly said.

"Mom, it's okay, we're going to try and smooth over the whole Mister Shapiro thing." Tori said.

"Wait. What mister Shapiro thing? What did you do?" Mrs. Vega was giving a fairly intimidating glare, not Jade level, but still impressive.

"Should I tell her?" Tori whispered to Jade.

"If you'd told me your parents didn't know about the date, I'd have never insisted on coming in." Jade whispered back.

"What date?" Holly asked. As the girls heads shot up, she smiled. "I read lips." Tori stared in shock. "I kinda read lips. It's easier if whomever your reading is looking at you and enunciating clearly."

"That's so cool. You're going to have to teach me how to do that some time." Jade said quickly. "Unfortunately, we're starting to run late, so we gotta go."

"Not so fast. Tori, I know your father and I have been lax, but I expect to meet your new boy soon." Holly said.

"MOM!" Tori replied.

"Look, Mrs Vega. Tori kinda let it slip that I'm Robbie's illegitimate sister, and now we're going to try and smooth things over with my dad. That's the truth." Jade said.

"Then whats this about a date? Tori, are you dating that Robbie boy?" Holly asked.

"No!" Tori shot back. "We really need to go." She started out the door.

"Then your dating..." Holly's face froze, a frown overtaking the look of confusion before a forced smile was attempted. "I know we're not that close, but Tori, dear, you could have told me. I understand. Not like your father, with his partner being gay and all, but I try."

"Gary's gay?!" Tori said, almost screeched, and it seemed for a few seconds like she was stuck in the doorway. Jade grabbed her elbow and pulled her out of the house. Holly had grabbed the door and was watching the two start to make their escape.

"Have Tori set up a time when David can give me the third degree, and I'll try and be there." Jade said, then she pulled Tori to her car. Once they were in, Jade took off as quickly as she could without risking a speeding ticket. Holly, for her part, decided it was time to find out what was going on, so while Tori was being shoved into the car, she heard her mother shouting a question to her sister.

"Trina, how long Tori's been dating Jade?"

Tori wasn't sure how bad the whole dinner could be, but suspected if things went well she'd ask to stay longer. Like maybe a week. Just long enough to avoid the fallout of her parents discovering she was dating Jade. Of course, if things didn't go well, she'd have to face her parents just to find solace for her emotional wounds. She didn't particularly like Mister Shapiro, but so desperately wanted Jade's father to like her. It was almost an obsession. 'What is it about me wanting people named West to like me?' She thought. 'Or who I though were named West.'

They arrived shortly before dinner, and Tori found herself making awkward conversation with Jade's mother. Robbie's mother was also in and out of the room, looking as uncomfortable as someone could look. Jade's brother and Robbie's sister seemed to be the only ones enjoying the wait, having found an ally in the constant struggles of being in their respective families. 'I suppose their all Jade's siblings, so it's unfair to keep referring to them like that.' Tori thought. She'd been told their names, but was so nervous she could barely remember her own.

Finally Mrs. Shapiro announced that dinner was ready. The whole group went to a massive dining room while the younger boy was sent to get his father. Tori could see that the two women had worked out some kind of compromise and both had helped in the preparation of the meal, but found out that because miss West had a job, Mrs Shapiro usually did most of the cooking. Also, there were cleaners who came once per week, and some food was prepared by a paid cook, then left frozen or otherwise ready to be finished. Tonight, however, Mrs. Shapiro had insisted on something fresh and from the heart. "I hope it's not traditional food." Robbie's sister had moaned.

"Hush now." Miss West said. "Of course, I do understand that sentiment, sometimes. Unfortunately, Last time I served pork chops, we were banned from the main kitchen for a week." The attempt to lighten the mood died, as effective a herald of the arrival of the patriarch of the household as could be expected.

"Hello Tori. If you don't mind, I'd like to be clear as to why your here before we start eating. I can wait, however, if you insist on praying first." He said. Tori nodded and said a quick prayer. Then the meal began, with food passed in a clockwise fashion, and each person HAD to take at least a little of everything, even if they weren't going to eat it.

"So Tori, why are you here?" He asked.

"I was hoping we could get past the whole mix up of, well, you know, when Cat and I kinda told everyone about your, um, unusual family situation." Tori managed to force out.

"So this has nothing to do with your dating Jade?" He asked.

"Does everyone know?!" Tori asked, her voice louder than she'd intended. Jade, strangely, didn't make any comments, despite Tori imagining the goth saying "You're parents didn't." In a mocking tone. Possibly even in her Tori voice.

"Tori, please, I had no idea it was secret. Honestly, I was amazed it took this long for you two to get together." Mister Shapiro said, sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"WHAT?!" Jade didn't try to hide her shock, her voice was probably heard by their neighbors.

"You mean you didn't..?" He started. "Robbie, you saw it, right? Rex?"

That's when Tori saw that Rex had a seat at the table, as well as a yamaka on his head. It creeped Tori out more than anything the puppet had ever done before. Somehow, that his father indulged in the fantasy of Rex was bad enough, but Tori worried that the man might see more of himself in the puppet then Robbie, and was willing to let it be the favored son.

"I saw it." Mrs. Shapiro said. There was a strange sort of tension around Jade, and Tori wasn't sure what it was now that the girls father seemed to be unimpressed with Tori dating her. However, the whole subject was dropped quickly.

"Tori, I understand it wasn't your intent to share my families secret. But it's out now, and we'll just have to deal with it. I do wish you'd minded your own business, and fully expect you to start doing that now. As for dating Jade, as long as it doesn't interfere with her chores or her schoolwork, there should be no problems." He finished, and dropped the subject like it never existed. "Robbie, why don't you tell me about your current school project."

Robbie started telling about the report he was doing for his history class. Tori was able to learn a lot from the meal. Mister Shapiro ran the conversation, no one was allowed to have any cross conversations, and the subject was always the patriarch's choice. She also found out, from whispers from the younger children, that the eldest children could always eat alone, and sometimes were encouraged to, but could not miss important meals. Jade and family weren't required to attend any holy days with the family, but were invited and welcome. As welcome as could be expected.

Finally the meal was done, and Jade was ready to take off. "Jade, you will sit down. We have a guest, so we need to show her proper manners. Tori, in a Jewish household, we pray after the meal. Robbie, the Birkat Hamazon please." Mister Shapiro said.

"All of it?" Robbie asked.

"Yes, the full version." His father said. After Robbie recited the full prayer, in Hebrew, they were allowed to leave the table. Mr. Shapiro took the opportunity to disappear back into his office. Tori was dragged by Jade up to the third floor, and into the goths room. Once in the large, comfortable room, Tori relaxed.

"Okay, Vega. Tori. Look, I'm sorry about this, I didn't know he'd be.." Jade hesitated.

"Okay with us dating. No, that's not the word. I can't read him, but I got the feeling he was excited about us being together." Tori said.

"He was. I don't know what to make of it. And Tori, for the record, we usually don't have to stay for the prayer, and he almost never uses the full version. I think he wanted you to know he was in charge." Jade said.

"He needed THAT to prove he was in charge? Okay, I get it. I was kinda surprised you didn't do anything to disrupt the evening." Tori said.

"I wanted him to approve of us, and that was the fight I'd geared up for. Once I had that win, I felt it was better to just let it be for a while." The goth was smiling. "Now, I'm not saying were anywhere near the sexy parts, but we are alone in my room. We could do a little kissing, just to make out."

"I'd like that." Tori replied. They spent some time making out before breaking apart and getting to the date part again.

"So, Tori, is there anything your dates learn in the first few dates that I don't know, cause I think we're playing a lot of catchup, and I want to be sure we don't miss anything." Jade told her.

"Cat swears you don't have a penis." Tori blurted out. 'And while I'm at it, can I see your boobs, maybe compare them with your mothers? God Tori, can you be any more inappropriate?' Tori scolded herself. "Sorry, didn't mean to...what were you saying?"

"I said no, but Robbie says he knows where I can get one. Not a real one, I suppose, but that would be cool too." Jade was saying.

"I'm even more sorry I said anything." Tori whined.

"You're just stating what a lot of people think. If I'm as pushy as I am, I've got boy parts." Jade said. "Just so you know, I'm not always as pushy as you've seen me. I can be the submissive one, when the mood strikes me. However, I'm the bossy gank who's going to be choosing where most of our dates are gonna be, and the one who's going to insist on kissing in public long before I let you feel me up." She looked into Tori's eyes for several seconds. "Missed the boat on that one, didn't I."

"Just a little... But you were drunk and so damn gorgeous. What was I supposed to do." Tori said, smirking.

"I expect you to be willing to kiss me in public before you get to touch my bare tits." Jade corrected.

"So I can get a feel of them now, just through the bra?" Tori was enjoying this.

"Right now, you can touch my back, and maybe my ass. Just no funny business." Jade scolded her. It was weird, negotiating this kind of intimacy.

"Do you want to touch me?" Tori asked.

"I do, but I'm going to respect the same boundaries I expect you too. However, if your ready to go public, hold hands, maybe kiss a bit, then we can move on to the next hurdle in our march towards the sex stuff." Jade smirked.

"How many hurdles are there?" Tori asked.

"Only a couple more. I have to be comfortable letting you reach a plateau, that's the big one, and other than that I still have a minimum time I need you to put in. I think the only other snag could be your mother. Why's it a big deal that this Gary dude is gay. Is your dad stepping out?" Jade's smirk was growing, and threatened to bloom into a full smile. Tori leaned in and kissed her.

"Gary is my dad's partner, and for a while I thought, scratch that, I was sure my mother was the one stepping out with Gary. I can't believe he's gay." Tori told her girlfriend. "I can call you my girlfriend, right?" Tori asked, almost out of the blue.

"If you can hold my hand and kiss me in public, you can call me your girlfriend. You want to be my girlfriend?" Jade asked. It felt so middle school, but they were moving forward, and that made Tori happy.

"Sure. I'm down with that." The Latina said.

"You'll regret it tomorrow." Jade's smirk hinted that the threat was more of a promise.

"Mayyyybee." Tori replied.

"It's getting late, and I have stuff to do. Let's get you home." Jade stood up, walked a few steps and turned to see Tori still sitting on the bed. "Well?"

"I'm your girlfriend now, and I don't even get to feel them once, not even through your shirt?" Tori was joking, kinda.

"Tori!" Jade was almost floored by the statement.

"What? I don't quite remember what it felt like, and I think I've earned that much." Tori said.

"Tomorrow, in private, AFTER I get my public kiss." Jade said.

"Tomorrow, I get to grab them under the shirt, after you get your public kiss." Tori replied.

"You're negotiating with me?" Jade almost stuttered.

"Yea, and I also want reciprocation." Tori said.

"What?" This was the Jade Tori was used to, dangerous and threatening. However, while the writer had an excellent grasp of the language, she wasn't using it.

"I might want you to feel me up a bit too." Tori replied. As Jade stared at her, she gathered her things and started heading towards the car. "Some girls like it when their boobs are...caressed." Tori deliberately lowered her voice, both in volume and in pitch, trying to draw Jade in.

"I don't know, I'm not used to the equipment, I might be a little rough." Jade said as they went down the stairs.

"I might like that." Tori said without thinking. 'And now I'm a pervert.'

:}

Wow, I wrote that. I know, kinda weird, but I had them negotiating touching. Almost expected a contract to come out. So, the only secret revealed here was that Tori's parents weren't expecting tori to be dating Jade. But I hope you understand Mister West a little more now. Also, Loved Trina in this chapter.

Comments, questions, please review. I even take criticism. So, yea. Review, cause it's the right thing to do. :}


	16. Chapter 16 Somethings different

Disclaimer. Don't own the source material.

:}

"And that made you a pervert?" Trina asked. Tori had needed to talk to someone, and her sister was her closest confidant, so as soon as she got home she'd asked Trina's advice. "You try and negotiate groping her, admit to feeling her up while she was drunk, and your suggesting you might like it a little rough is what makes you a pervert?" Unfortunately, Trina needed to know what had happened, and Tori's attempts to sanitize her story didn't quite succeed. One suggestion that Trina get Jade's side of the story, and Tori confessed to her actions and attitude in the West girls bedroom.

"Okay, I admit, I may have came on a bit strong, but I just feel I have to be aggressive. Jade's so..." Tori was at a loss for words.

"How about the next time you negotiate with her, you decide to let her be the man in this relationship. Let her ask you out, set the dates, and move towards the naughty stuff when she's ready." Trina chided. "It's obvious your ready to go. I'm just relieved she was still willing to go out with you. You should probably apologize for feeling her up, and bring flowers. Wait, I keep forgetting this is Jade. Bring her a ten pack of scissors."

"Advice noted. Look, Treen, I just need you to be on my side, okay." Tori said. "I really want to get this right, after my last string of screw ups."

"I hope this isn't something I need to do something about." David Vega's voice cut through Trina's room.

"Dad." the sisters said, in almost perfect unison.

"Tori, look, I know I'm not really involved in your life, and I'm proud I have two such independent daughters. Daughters who I can trust to be alone while your mother and I have our lives and try to keep the romance alive." He said. "It's just, sometimes I miss the important things, and I feel like this is one we need to talk about. So why don't we go down stairs and talk."

"Is this something that we might need witnesses for?" Trina asked.

"It's okay, Trina, I just feel this discussion would be better served if done in the living room." The patriarch said. With that, both sisters allowed themselves to be moved towards the stairs and the living room. Mister Vega didn't seem to mind Trina's involvement, but wasn't pleased that he couldn't have his father daughter talk the way he'd wanted to. Or not wanted to, if he was at all honest. He'd rather be talking to her about just about anything, sitting in his home office, behind a desk, protected from his own actions. Now he had to face the consequences of raising his children to be so independent.

Once they got to the living room, He looked around to see if Holly was going to be involved in this discussion. Holly was sitting in the kitchen, having a cup of tea. As sometimes happened, she was there for him, but left it to him to handle this problem. He watched the girls sit down as he grabbed a chair from the dining room. Then he sat down, making sure he was apart from his girls.

"I just want to start by saying, Tori, nothing you do will change that your my girl, my daughter, and I will still love you no matter what." David started. "But this whole Jade thing has floored me. I mean, why did you choose to date a girl who once pushed you off a four story platform?"

The sisters looked at each other, both trying to sort what they'd just heard. "Let me get this clear. You're okay that Tori here's dating a chick, but the fact that it's Jade is freaking you out?"

"I mean, you could have dated that sweet girl, the one with the bad red hair dye." David said. "She seems nice. Maybe she's into girls." He almost sounded hopeful.

"Tori's into boobs." Trina said. "Was just telling me how she wanted to grope Jade as soon as she was sure she'd get her hands back."

"TRINA!" Tori was turning red now.

"Seriously, dad, why the concern." Trina continued. "Every time Tori dates a nice, clean cut acceptable guy, they're trying to take advantage of her somehow. I mean, Steven, Ryder, and lets not forget Joseph. Even when she was dating Beck, it turned into a disaster."

"You dated Beck? And now you're dating his Ex? Tori..." The Vega Patriarch sounded upset.

"It's not like that." Tori started.

"She only dated Beck because she wanted Jade." Trina said. "It's not like she slept with him."

Tori turned a deeper shade of red, and the whole family was struck dumb. For several uncomfortable seconds, they sat there, somehow expecting an explanation from Tori. It didn't come.

"Okay, we accept that Tori's done a lot of stupid things, and a fair portion of them involve Jade. I think this is just the essayist way of keeping her from doing anything else stupid." Trina argued.

"But she's violent, and dangerous. I mean, we could be talking about a budding serial killer." Their father's voice was slightly shaken as he shared his concerns.

"Jade's not like that." Tori had finally found her voice. "And yes, I'm being direct, pushing for what I want. But Jade appreciates that approach. She hates it when someone dances around what they want, always asking if it's okay to hold hands. If I push, then I get."

"And how much have you gotten?" It was Holly's voice. The Matriarch looked far more frazzled by the whole thing than David did. "I mean, how much... Have you kissed? Held hands? Fucked?" Holly's voice broke at the last one.

"Jade isn't going to put out that easily. Trust me, if I don't push, it may not happen and then what will you do about grandchildren?" Tori replied. There was a growing frustration in the youngest Vega, as her statement showed.

"Tori!" Her father snapped. "I am willing to let you settle your personal relations the way you want, but your mother is still trying to accept this whole gay thing. Or are you Bi?" The question was almost more than Tori was ready to handle.

"I want Jade." She said with a forced calmness that fooled no one. "Her family has some screwed up dynamics, like the fact that her father is Robbie's father, making her a bastard. She's not Jewish, and isn't expected to follow whatever religious rules Robbie is, but she is expected to follow a whole bunch of other rules if she wants to live with her father. And since he lives in a fucking mansion, she's going to follow his rules."

"Being rich doesn't make him better." David said. "Holly is still getting over the whole gay thing. You have to understand, it takes a while. I was kinda expecting it, but still when she told me it took a call to Gary to walk me through it and accept this is your life. I will need to talk to Jade."

"Jade felt the same way. Tonight, she showed up early just to get 'The Talk' from you. She was kinda disappointed she didn't get it." Tori said. It was strange how this subject was calming. "Also, if you could help arrange her police ride alongs, so she learns as much as she can, please." Tori gave her best Bambi eyes, and her father had to retrain himself from laughing.

"Tori, please, I'll do what I can, but you have to understand those rides are given out by the program, and I don't have any say in how things work out." Her father said. "Now, I know this is going to take a while to adjust to, and I'll try. If Jade was looking forward to my third degree, then she's either all right, or we've got some major problems."

"So dad, Gary's gay? How long have you known? I mean..." Tori felt like she was walking on thin ice, but the curiosity was killing her. Not to mention it shifted the subject from the worry on everyone mind.

"He told me about a year into our partnership. It was one of the last things he kept to himself, the last hurdle we had to overcome to be able to trust each other completely." David said. "I never told anyone because it's not my business. So how'd mister Shapiro take you dating Jade?'

"He asked what took us so long." Tori said.

"You know, I'm still gonna need some time to adjust to that one." David said. "Jade's Robbie's half sister? Wow."

Seeing her chance to get out of this conversation, Tori took it. "Night mom, dad." Tori said, as she stood up to head to the stairs. Trina followed suit, and they left their parents, each trying to wrap their heads around the changes in the family. It looked calm, but inside Tori was running.

The next day, Tori was almost vibrating with excitement. As much as she wanted to get the sexy times going, this was the day she claimed Jade as her own. Of course, there could be consequences. Jade was still recovering her reputation at school. The goth was still pitied, but there was less pity and more respect each day. The fear was also returning, but Jade didn't do anything more than glare to get that. Overall, Tori was feeling like things were returning to the way they'd been.

Despite Tori intent, she didn't get a chance to spend any time with Jade before class. The goth was busy with her part of the project. 'My god, is she going to finish before we even get started?' Tori wondered. Beck had planned to start filming towards the end of the week, once he figured out how he was going to handle the settings. Of course, in the end, he used Sinjin's ability to create props for the outside shots, thus avoiding finding the right places then getting permission. The inside shots would be (Where else) at Tori's place. It didn't really surprise anyone.

Tori was starting to get nervous as the day progressed. She needed to get that kiss over, let the school know Jade was her property. She saw someone leaning near Jade's locker, and remembering the number of times it had been tagged, Tori felt an impulse to drive that guy away. She buried it. 'No need to start trouble, not when I'm so close.' The guy didn't do anything, and Tori was able to relax.

Finally lunch came, and Tori was able to spend some time with Jade. The filmmaker was sitting in their usual spot, eating something from the grub truck. Tori worried every time she couldn't identify something from that truck. Today, it seemed to be some kind of salad. Tori sat down next to her girlfriend and, after tapping Jade's arm to get her attention, leaned in and kissed her. It was quick, nothing compared to the make out sessions they'd indulged in in the past. Still, it was her declaration that Jade was hers, and it opened the way for her to hold the Goth's hand.

The reaction was almost unnoticeable. Tori's friends all kinda knew it was coming, so they just nodded and went on with their lives. Only Cat took the time to congratulate them. Robbie just looked, then went back to what he was doing. The rest of the school seemed to follow their lead, but there was a subtle undertow that wasn't obvious. It wasn't something Tori would expect, and it wasn't organized. However, it was wide spread, and the various students feeling it were waiting to see who'd be the first to confront the unspoken assumption. It came later, as she was visiting her locker.

"Are you dating her out of pity?" Some guy Tori wasn't sure she'd ever seen before asked her. She looked at him, a hard, dark look, and he had his answer. "So it's because of her looks?"

"It's none of your business." Tori replied.

"I think it is. I mean, Jade's not exactly me friend, but after everything she's been through lately, I was just making sure she isn't being taken advantage of." Tori was floored. No one in this school would ever stick their necks out for someone who wasn't in their social group.

'But Jade's changing the rules.' Tori thought. 'She's making it possible for those who aren't the top talents to shine. So with these guys, it's motivated personal interest, probably by the same people who were tormenting her just a couple of weeks ago. Assholes.' Tori refocused her attention to the guy. "I'll have you know whats between me and Jade is our business, and if anyone has the right to question me, it's not you."

"And I'd be willing to accept it. Still, even Jade, as strong as she seems, can be vulnerable. Especially when it feels like she doesn't have any friends. I'm just making sure that, after everything she's endured, you're not what pushes her over the edge." He never backed up a step. Tori would have been impressed, if she wasn't so wazzed. "However, if you're doing this with her best interests at heart, then even though you don't need it, you'll have my blessings."

"And why don't you take those blessings and shove them up your tight ass, Jerk!" Tori barely controlled her volume, and to avoid showing off her limited fighting skills, she walked away.

It stuck with her the rest of the day. 'How can any of them pretend to care about her? I mean, it can't be guilt, mobs don't have guilt. It may be because she's the key for some of them to get their moment in the sun, but that wouldn't carry over to the whole fucking school.' Tori's forehead scrunched in concentration. 'Where were they when she was planning on taking out half the school?' She was having trouble concentrating on her homework.

Tori took her break to clear her mind. When that didn't work, she did the next thing that came to mind, asking Trina. "Trina, why would they be such hypocrites? I mean, I don't get it. This guy was accusing me of using Jade." Tori was slipping into full rant mode.

"Tori, relax. It's the same animal, but a different face. These are the guys who've lusted after her from afar, but were never brave enough to do anything about it." Trina was uncomfortably calm as she explained things. "These aren't the guys who offered her money for sex, but the ones who were offended that the girl they thought they knew was selling herself. Once she was vindicated, they're the same guys who feel that they need to protect her, and you're getting in the way. Or, maybe the school has it's share of hypocritical douche bags who are willing to get in your face because your not going to tear their dicks off."

"Speaking of romance, how's your love life?" Tori asked. "Is your latest guy willing to share you with Miss Rothschild?"

"Tori, this isn't the time to be making jokes, especially about that. You have to worry about all the guys, and lets face it, girls, who've been waiting for a chance to date Jade." Trina smiled. "Crazy girls are hot, and there are a lot of... People who will try and muscle in on your turf."

"So now I have to fight to keep her?" Tori wasn't happy. "Wait a minute, I didn't get to feel her tit's. She owes me a grope, either giving or receiving."

"And that's the attitude that's going to give them a chance. Think about it. Jade's background? She isn't likely to cheat." Trina assured her sister. "You just need to switch the roles so she's doing the boys part. You know, asking you out, planning the dates, and so on. Make Jade work for it, and she'll be more inclined to taste your forbidden fruits."

"Really? A fruit reference?" Tori was enjoying the banter. It was a good reminder that her sister was almost like another close friend.

"We'll, you want to squeeze her melons." Trina replied. "Go on and text her, let her know that you'll take a rain check on the whole cross grope until she's more comfortable, and that your looking forward to seeing her again soon. Maybe hint that your available."

"Okay, and maybe I can get some of the guys lusting after my hot Latina ass to help make her jealous?" Tori said.

"It could work, but your already in the relationship phase. It's better to use that if you think they're not interested, and only enough to get them interested. I've dealt with more than one girl who lost the guy she was after because he didn't think he could win her." Trina smiled. "At the same time, whatever guy you use, and trust me there are plenty who're looking for the slightest go ahead, they'd take the chance to ask you out. That's the problem with being nice. They may think you're out of their league, but otherwise, why not ask you out. Even guys who'd rather ask out other girls will try asking you. They know, if you do say no, you'll be nice about it."

"So Jade's hotter than I am because she's a bitch?' Tori asked.

"No, because guys like tits." Trina replied. "But the bitch part helps."

"Okay, I can't blame them. I like her tits too." Tori said as she pulled her phone out.

Jade – (From Tori) – I just wanted to let you know that, while I did my part of our little bargain, I can wait for your part until you feel ready to go that far.

Jade – (From Tori) - I'm willing to earn your trust.

Tori waited for a small eternity and then got her reply.

Tori – (From Jade) – I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. And I do trust you, I'm just not ready to get that kind of physical yet.

Tori frowned at the reply. 'I was hoping we'd be moving along. I guess, if things were reversed, I'd be a little shy too.'

Jade – (From Tori)- The best way to keep me patient is to give me other happy things to think about.

'I wonder if I'm hinting too much?' Tori wondered. She went back to her homework, happy that she'd gotten some of her concerns off her chest. A short while later, she got another text.

Tori – (From Jade) – I could drop by, bring my suit, and maybe enjoy your hot tub, if I finish my stuff first. Say sevenish?

Tori considered it. She'd probably be done with dinner by then, and maybe her father would be home. 'Also, she's asking to spend time with me, so I'm for it.'

Jade – (From Tori) – It had better be a damn sexy suit. And I'll want a real date later on.

Almost immediately, the response came.

Tori – (From Jade) – Great. And I'll even bring takeout. Pizza or Chinese?

'How about sushi? I can eat it off your naked body, and …' Tori cut off that line of thoughts. "Hay Treen? How come I've got this dirty mind? I mean, why is sex all I can think about?"

"I'd guess it's a mix of pent up frustration, from the high sexual tension you two have kept up for your entire relationship before dating, and fear." Trina said. "Or rather, you just want to make her yours before she comes to her senses. Only thing is, that's not the trap that Jade represents." Trina had walked over to where Tori was, in the latter's room, to finish the conversation. "Tori, I'm guessing Jade's biggest desire is to be loved, and she's willing to put up with a lot of chiz to get it. The trap Jade is setting is long term. That's why, even when she's ready to tear your cloths off, she'll hold back. Once she sees your not going anywhere, she'll let you fuck her." Trina then moved to look her sister in the eye. "I hope you understand what I'm about to tell you. When she's ready to be with you, make love to her first. I know, people say there's a difference, and I'll admit I haven't been lucky enough to experience it yet, but I know, done right, Jade will know you love her from the way you screw."

"Gee, thanks. Like I didn't have enough pressure on me as is." Tori said, looking a bit anxious.

"Then good news, I'll make sure Jade does her half of the work." Trina said, and quickly left the room.

'This can't end well.' Tori thought as she refocused on her homework.

:}

Ever wonder what you'd written meant? I had that while editing this chapter. Now, I hope you enjoyed it and if any of the word salad I was dealing with is confusing, please ask. Also, hope this wasn't too explanation bound.

And if you''re so inclined, review. And if your not, review. Just... review.


	17. Chapter 17 Meeting the Vega's

Disclaimer: Don't own victorious or it's characters. No suing, No suing, No suing. (It works for Dora, right?)

:}

Over the last half hour, Tori had been pacing around her living room as the same thought replaying in her mind, over and over. 'Jade's coming over, for a date. A diner date. In the hot tub.' Tori needed something to distract her mind. She'd finished her homework, and even got a head start on future work, so she'd settled for pacing.

Tori wasn't alone in the house. Trina was there, watching her pace, and so was her father. Of course, Tori hadn't told Jade the last part, wanting it to be a surprise. 'What kind of girlfriend surprises her date with an interrogation?' Tori wondered, but it seemed to be something Jade wanted to experience.

To make things more uncomfortable, the rest of the Vega family had already eaten. But Jade was bringing food, so Tori was waiting patiently. Besides, it wasn't like there was a planned meal. Everyone else just grabbed something, and kinda ate together. Tori had sat with them, discussing chiz, but it wasn't the same. It was one of the reasons she valued family pot pie. It was family time. 'What is it about sharing food that creates that bond?' Tori had wondered, but not for long as her mind drifted back to Jade.

Finally, around seven fifteen, Jade arrived. "Sorry I'm late. I was delayed. I only have a couple of scenes to finish, and my group was working on one today, and naturally it ran long. Luckily, I'll probably get it done tomorrow, and have all filming done by Sunday." Jade said as she entered the home. "I've brought Greek takeout." She held up the bag as proof, as if Tori could somehow see inside it.

"I understand you've been looking forward to talking to me." David said, stepping forward.

"Yep. Can we do this while I eat? I've been super busy all afternoon." Jade replied. She carried her bag to the table, setting down the takeout equivalent of traditional Greek cooking. The Vega patriarch followed.

"So Jade, I've been wanting to ask, what are your intentions with my daughter?" David asked.

"Keeping her out of my pants until I'm sure this is more then a quick fling." Jade said before she could think.

"Told ya." Tori said, apparently having anticipated Jade's response. Her father glared while Jade blushed. It took Tori a second to realize she was the one her father was staring at, and she felt just a bit of shame. "Dad, I'm working on the whole self control issue, and I think my actions stem from all the tension that's existed between Jade and myself for almost two years. I didn't realize how strongly it was affecting me until I sat down and thought about my actions. Jade, I'll let you set the pace, but I might slip up along the way, okay?" She hoped the explanation would make her outburst look a little less weird.

"O-Okay." Jade half mumbled.

"It's a bad sign when I feel like I should be giving 'The Speech' to my own kid." The Patriarch sighed. "Tori, Jade, I expect you two to follow rules and show respect for each other. Jade, we don't want you and Tori doing anything your not ready for, but at the same time it's equally important not to use each other for other things as well. Don't hurt her, don't cheat, just treat her the way you wish you could be treated."

"Got it." Jade said, regaining her confidence. She sat down, looking at Officer Vega for several more seconds, waiting for him to continue. "What, that's it? No threats? No promises to abuse your powers as a police officer to make my life a living hell if I cause Vega here any pain? At least you could have threatened to bury me in the desert. I even know some spots." Jade huffed as she saw that Tori's father seemed to be done. David pulled his daughter aside as Jade moved to put the food on plates for them.

"Oh, Tori, just to be clear, your girlfriend just told me she's expecting me to bury her in the desert if she hurts you, and can recommend some places." He whispered. "Are you sure this is the girl you want to spend your life with?"

"Jade's major into horror flicks, so she was kinda let down by this whole talk." Tori replied. "We're going to eat, then soak in the jacuzzi, so she should cheer up quick." Her father raised an eyebrow. "Jade loves jacuzzi's. Don't ask why, she just does. The swimwear part is for me."

"Trina!" David shouted, turning to face the stairway. "We need a lifeguard for the Hot tub."

"No we don't." Tori said.

"And why is your father inserting your sister in our date?" Jade asked.

"Don't worry, just get changed so we can eat out by the hot tub." Tori said. "I'll get ready, and then get the pink lemonade."

Trina came down the stairs, looking a bit miffed. "Dad!" She cried. "Why do I have to watch them? Tori promises she'll keep her hands off, so you don't need me to watch, do you?"

"Don't like the jacuzzi?" Jade asked.

"I'm using a new skin cream, and it doesn't do well with high heats. Because I do my Hot Yoga in the mornings, so I can only apply it in the evenings, and now I need to keep relatively cool." Trina said.

"Okay, then lets make a deal. I know a beauty secret for soft, caressable skin, and I'll give it to you tomorrow if Tori and I have a nice, quiet date with minimal interruptions." Jade offered as she started walking towards the hall bathroom. "And if we don't, I might just let it slip to Robbie that your a sucker for a good serenade."

"You wouldn't dare!" Trina said, trying to be as threatening as she could.

"In a second." Jade replied. "After everything he's been through, he might like it if he thought he had a chance. And lets face facts, you've got a great rack."

"Dad! Jade's complimenting my..." Trina didn't finish, cutting herself off right at the embarrassing part. She stood by the stairs, looking uncertain, then turned back to Jade. "This secret, is it some expensive beauty product you can afford because your daddy works for Amanda Rothschild?"

"That's the best part, it's surprisingly inexpensive." Jade enticed.

"It'd better be." Trina said. "And Jade."

"Whaaat?" Jade moaned.

"If you could talk to your father, I'd love to meet miss Rothschild." Trina said, trying to sound as harmless as she could.

"Not going to happen. My dad only manages her money. He only see's her when he needs her signature on something." Jade replied.

"Then an autographed copy of her next book?" Trina tried.

"GO!" Jade said with authority. Trina raced up the stairs, almost running into Tori who was on her way down wearing a dressing gown. Jade took that as her invitation to race to the hall bathroom and change.

Jade joined Tori out at the jacuzzi. The Latina was soaking and eating her food one handed. The other held her plate, so she didn't spill any food into the pool. Jade didn't bother getting in yet, sitting by the side of the tub, eating her Gyro wrapped in a Pita. Jade was enjoying the ethnic food, while Tori was getting impatient. While she wasn't pushing the goth any more, she still was looking forward to a make out session in the tub. A smile broke across Tori's face as she thought of them kissing in the hot water.

"Do you think Gyro and Shawarma are related?" Jade asked offhandedly.

"What?" Tori asked.

"Never mind, just a thought." The writer said. "So Tori, I was a little worried about this next part, but then you said you'd let me set the pace." Jade proceeded to take off the robe she was wearing, and as Tori ogled her body in that blue bikini she was rocking, Jade slipped into the tub.

"Who." Tori started. "I mean, why were you worried. I've seen you in bikini's before."

"Yea, but back then, you weren't thinking about nailing me." Jade said as she relaxed into the jacuzzi. Then, as a thought seemed to hit her, Jade sat up, looking at the singer. "Were you?"

"Not consciously, but I'm sure I've looked down your blouse more than once." Tori replied, amazingly calm. "So Jade, no secrets, Okay?"

"Sorry, A girl's got to have some mystery." Jade replied. "But I can promise you this, no secrets that can hurt you."

"Then why did your father think he could keep you a secret and have you all living in the same house?" Tori asked.

"He didn't." Jade replied. "He was using his new success to introduce me and my brother to the Shapiro side of his family."

"Huh?" Tori was seriously confused.

"According to Robbie's mom, and this is so janked up, his father has a little money. That's Robbie and my grandfather. Anyways, they seem to think a man can only have a mistress and illegitimate children if he can afford to raise them, and that the mans wife should accept that as part of the culture of the wealthy semi-aristicrats. Old shit, even in some old marriage manuals. Since my father couldn't afford to keep us, we had to be a secret. Now that he has some money, enough to flaunt, he's rubbing it in his parents faces." Jade said. "I think he's just trying to prove to his parents he's good enough, and that they were wrong to judge him for the second family."

"I can't believe anyone believes that any more." Tori said. "About how rich men can have a mistress, or even illegitimate children, and it's okay because he has money."

"True chiz. Some people still do. That's why you sometimes find the rich guy with the secret family, and the kids like my age, or even older." Jade said. "That's even how they used to deal with gay men of the upper crust. They just took a man as their lover."

"And now, your dad is rich enough to support two families, and he's showing it off to his parents?" Tori was still trying to wrap her head around it. "Then why was he so insistent you keep it a secret?"

"Because it was just as important for him to be seen as a moral man, a pillar of his community." Jade replied. "I've had the chance to talk to Robbie's mom about this too, and she says that for the old school communities like the one my father was raised in, it was an open secret. You didn't flaunt it. My family lives with his, but we live on another floor, and we have some thin excuse as to why. Also, unfortunately, the world changed while he was growing up, and now it's not as socially acceptable for him to have the second family. It's less the open secret now and more of a mini-scandal."

"So where does that leave you?" Tori asked.

"That's the weird part. We didn't know, so we denied everything while we tried to figure things out. Now, it's like it's easiest for us to just let the scandal happen, and once it blows over, we're gold. In theory." Jade smiled. "Of course, since I wasn't raised Jewish, I don't get to hear what they're saying about us at the Synagogue, but I'd imagine it won't be too much longer before my dad is just another sinner working off his sins while waiting for his fucking tee time."

"And the mothers, you're and Robbie's, they're okay with this?" Tori had to ask.

"From what I got, yes and no." Jade said with a sigh, feeling this was the hardest part to explain. "Both knew what kind of relationship they were in years ago. Not saying they knew going in, but by the time my brother was born, they both knew. And my dad always makes it clear he's in charge, which is funny, since Mom and Misses Shapiro have formed an alliance of sorts, taking control of some of the household chiz. But Dad's still in charge, and they seem to be making the best of things. A multimillion dollar house does wonders to help with that."

Tori nodded, but something was still bugging her. "So you think it's be okay for Robbie?" Tori asked.

"Nope." Jade replied. "Father," she said in a British accent, then reverting to her usual one, "he wants Robbie to be like him, a rebel who reforms and is the perfect man. Only that's not who Robbie is. Wasn't really who dad was either, but try telling him that. Anyways, dad likes Rex, well his attitude and ability to get girls, but knows it's Robbie who's going to carry the family name."

"Poor guy. Almost feel sorry for him." Tori said. "So where does this leave us?"

"Dating?" Jade replied. But she seemed to think something was let unfinished.. "Tori, I'm trying to look out for Robbie, but it's nothing new. Before I knew he was my brother, I've always kinda watched out for him. I just never tried to solve his problems. Now, he's got Dad's family looking at him like he's their best hope at salvation, and his mothers parents, their just crazy. Did you know his grandmother used to call him to do her tech support? I mean, she had no clue, and would interrupt him at the worst times. Even embarrassed him in class once, trying to figure out how to video chat, and she was asking him for help over video chat."

"Okay, I get it. Robbie's grandparents are fucking clueless." Tori said. "It still doesn't answer my question. Where. Does. This. Leave. Us?."

"Dating, and unless you lose the tude, celibate." Jade replied.

"You can't cute me off. I'm not getting any." Tori protested.

"Then be happy dating. My dad's accepting us is a good thing. As you said, no secrets." Jade told her girlfriend.

"Okay. Dating. But remember, your the one I'm trusting to be the man, make the dates, that kind of chiz. I'm expecting some romance." Tori said.

They spoke about random things from there, but in the back of her mind, Tori was worried. Jade wasn't the type to let shit happen, and her father still had something over his daughter. Also, this secret was a problem for Robbie. 'But if he knows, then he can tell me. Wait, no interfering. I need Jade to trust me.'

They managed to make out a little before Jade had to head home. Tori reminded herself this was a long term game, and that sex, when it happened, would only bring them closer together. Jade kissed her goodby before heading out the door. Tori watched her girlfriend heading towards her car, and thought of something. "Give me a ride tomorrow?"

"No." Jade called back. "Too soon for us to try that again."

Tori wasn't too upset, but a little surprised. 'Maybe Jade's just joking, but I think I'll wait until I get to at least third base before I push it again.' She thought. As the goth got into her car, Tori heard a voice from upstairs, on the balcony.

"Don't for get my autographed copy, and not auto-pen, if possible." Trina called out. Tori tried real hard not to smile at that. It was just so Trina.

The next of the week, they slowly got closer. It was strange, in it's own way, dating Jade. Tori had to adjust their lives around their school schedules, including the film projects. Jade was getting closer and closer to done, and only had editing to do. She started hanging out with Tori more, but was often editing on her laptop as she watched her girlfriend doing whatever.

Even though it was an open secret, and everyone knew they were dating, they decided to officially declare they were a couple in stages, at least at school. First they told the most affected people, Robbie and Beck. Both knew, and had been expecting a more general announcement, but appreciated the personal touch. Then they gathered their friends together for the announcement. It was easy enough to do. Friday, after a week of finishing up and getting ready, they were at the Vega household again, for a party celebrating the beginning of filming for Tori's group. This time, Jade had been invited, and Trina was sitting there as well. Beck had planned a couple of takes per person playing each character, and hoped to have it done after one long weekend. It was the only way to play catchup to Jade, who had to be convinced to stop editing and post production on her part of the project to enjoy the party with her friends.

"Everyone, I have an announcement. Or rather, We do." Tori said to them, gathering her groups attention. She took Jade's hand, squeezing it for comfort and encouragement as they stood together by the pool. "Jade and I are dating, and officially girlfriends. We've only told a couple of people so far, and we will gradually let everyone else know, as we're ready."

"Everyone who needs to know." Jade corrected. "There are some pervs at Sherwood who I don't think will need to know anything."

"Jade!" Tori laughed as she held her girlfriends hand. Jade was loving the attention, but seemed to be holding back. 'I know, she's been hurt before. And by Beck. I guess it'll take some time for her to fully trust.'

"What?" The goth asked. "There are pervs everywhere. I just know, since you went to Sherwood, that would be the place where the pervs knew you."

"Of course, half of Hollywood Arts suspects." Someone said. Jade's eyes glided over the group, but no one seemed willing to take the blame for saying the obvious, and Beck was back in his knight protector role, refusing to give a hint. She just let it go, knowing that what they said was true.

They enjoyed the rest of the party, but they could only enjoy it so much before the realities of their lives pushed into their fun. Beck kept asking to talk to Jade, while Tori had to go over costuming with Cat. Tori saw that costumes was going to be the one area they'd have a major advantage over Jade. Cat had read the script, and then, once she knew who was going to play what part, put together the costumes for everyone. They'd gotten some money from Beck, and more from a fundraiser that Tori had no idea even happened. Apparently Trina, Sam, and a couple of others who were friendly to the actors did the work, a series of car washes and other activities where a pretty girl was most of the attraction. "Goomer and a couple of the guys were there, supposedly to make sure nothing happened, but Sam and Trina tricked them into providing some cake. I just don't think Beefcake would taste that good, but it did help raise money." Cat was telling her.

The results of their friends and family working to help raise capital was the costumes were spot on, and fit perfectly. It also gave Tori a new appreciation for the support her sister gave her. She glanced over to where Trina was talking to some of the guys who'd helped, and were going to help, and she felt a level of appreciation for her sister she rarely felt.

"So these are the locations you used? All of them?" She heard Beck asking Jade.

"Yes already. Do you want me to go out there and line up the shots for you too?" Jade replied.

"No, I'll do that." Beck said as he looked at his phone. "I'm not sure we'll be able to hit all of them in two days. Either we'll have to substitute or this shoot could take an extra day or two."

"Just don't take all of Tori's time. I want a date, tonight, maybe tomorrow night." Jade said.

"Better do it tonight. We'll be busy all weekend just filming as much as possible." Beck said. Jade gave her ex a hard look, not happy with how this was cutting into her dating time, then sought out her girlfriend.

"Tori, get changed. We're going out." Jade shouted at her girlfriend.

:}

There you have it. A lot of explanation, and the prelude to a date. The story is kinda cruising right now, but it should pick up a bit in the next couple of chapters. Whatever. And whats with my obsession with Amanda Rothschild? I made her up. So anyways, review.

Next time, the date. (There's an echo in my imagination.)


	18. Chapter 18 The date and stuff

Disclaimer: I don't seem to own Victorious or any of it's character. I tried to find them on Ebay, but had no luck.

:}

An hour after leaving the party, and Jade and Tori were in the first restaurant they could find that met all their criteria. Criteria including price, atmosphere, but mostly being seated without a reservation. Admittedly, Nozu often sat people without reservations, but Misses Lee probably still wanted to hurt them, so Tori and Jade had plenty of reservations of their own. Instead they found themselves at an Asian fusion restaurant, marveling at the variety of foods available. Jade was trying to make small talk about the cuisine, but Tori was far more interested in the other people who were there that evening.

"Really?" Jade said, feeling exasperated. "You hang out at a record company, and you see celebrities all the time. I can't believe your looking for them now, at this place."

"I'm not." Tori defended herself. "I'm people watching, and I just assumed that if I compared people to my family, you'd get lost. Everyone knows about celebrities."

"Really?" The goth asked, again, cocking her pierced eyebrow.

"No, I'm hoping to see someone famous." The singer admitted. "The whole thing about people watching, it's true. But it was always sort of a family thing. And I think my dad was trying to teach us to look at people like cops."

"First off, that's the plot to at least two dramedies, both from the USA network." Jade said. "Second, what kind of celebrity would be caught dead in this kind of place." Tori frowned at her. "They like places where the bouncer keeps their fans at bay, so they can enjoy the same kind of quiet dining experience we do." Jade took a bite of her food, looking at the disappointed expression on her girlfriends face. "Tori, I'm sorry, but you need to set your expectations..." Jade's eyes went wide. "Oh my god, a celebrity." She whisper yelled.

Tori glanced around, but kept a wary look on her face. "Ha ha." She turned to her girlfriend. "Where? Point them out. I don't..." Jade was pointing directly at Tori. "O-Okay, you got me there." Tori slumped in her chair.

"That didn't work the way I thought it would." The goth admitted. She could tell Tori was upset, and it bothered her. "Tori, whats wrong."

"You're right, I am a celebrity. Just a few months ago, I opened the Platinum Music Awards. And now, no one knows who I am." She sighed. "It's depressing how fickle fame is."

"Oooorrrr" Jade said. "Maybe everyone else is like me, and assumes no one famous would walk into this kind of no reservation place. Look, I'll bet there are still people who have posters of your face in their room's, abusing themselves to it every night;"

"Not helping." Tori replied, but she did sit up a little more.

"You know what's weirder?" Jade smiled, and Tori inwardly cringed. "You're sister is on all kinds of televisions from that role as Lady Cheese Boobs. Think of the boys, and lets be honest, girls who pleasure themselves looking at her."

"JADE!" Tori felt like the restaurant was staring. So, at least for that moment, Tori calmed herself down but felt her face going flush. "You know, once that image gets into my mind, it's not going away."

"Probably mostly fat old men who like to enjoy a little children's programming before they touch themselves." The writer continued.

"Jade, do you not hear me?" Tori was feeling the eyes on her now. All the while, the goth was smiling, the wheels in her head searching for the next part of this torture. "You know, I can fight back. Cece has pictures of Robbie."

"So do I." Jade said. "You remember Robarazzi?"

"Eeewww" Tori shivered. "I can't believe you kept those, and how are you so calm?"

"I'm sorry, but I've helped my grandmother out of the tub, so it's going to take a lot to freak me out." Jade said. "As for keeping them, you never know when a little blackmail will be needed."

"Your evil." The singer said, but an idea crept into her head. "So nothing will freak you out? Not even if I leaked the picture of you and Robbie making out?" Tori asked.

"That never happened!" Jade whisper yelled. "He fell into me, and the picture looks like he was kissing me instead of escaping from a bee."

"Doesn't matter, I have a picture that makes it look like you were making out with Robbie." Tori smirked, feeling like she had the upper hand.

"And I'm no the one to mess with." Jade shot back.

"Then lets call a truce." Tori offered. "I'll drop my blackmail talk, and you stop trying to embarrass me. At least through dinner. I just want to spend time with you. You know, date time."

"Deal." Jade offered her hand, and Tori took her pinky. "Really? Pinky swear?"

"It fits us, doesn't it?" Tori was enjoying how this gave her the edge. 'Better not push too hard. I'm the one who want things to move fast.' Her thoughts were interrupted by Jade wrapping her pinky around Tori's, sealing their deal.

"Tori..." Jade was suddenly nervous. "I have other secrets. Ones I want to tell. I- I just need to be ready to trust someone...Trust you." Jade looked unsure, like that confession was enough to set her running.

"Is it anything that I would have to tell my father?" Tori asked. "Anything illegal?"

"No. All that scarring is in my past, and the police have been notified." Jade said. Tori's eyes went wide. "Nothing too bad, pervert. I'll tell you once we're there. Lets just say, I'm really hoping this works out."

"Me too." Tori replied. "I'm not great with relationships. Most of them don't last three months."

"Lets not put a time limit on this, or expectations. Lets just enjoy the moment, and hope for the best." Jade said, then started leaning in for a kiss. Tori moved forward too, ready to kiss Jade, and in that kiss accept her challenge to just enjoy this part of the process. Their lips were almost touching, and Jade paused to feel Tori's frustrated breath on her lips. Tori was moving to close the remaining distance.

"Oh my lord, it's that girl from that show." The voice was unfamiliar, and had a heavy Midwestern accent. Tori and Jade both pulled back, looking around. All eyes were briefly on some woman at another table, pointing at Tori. Then the gaze shifted, and the voices started talking.

"She was on the Platinum Music Awards, right?" "I saw her on local TV, being dragged by a Saint Bernard." "Wasn't she on the Chris Burm show? She sang that song before Chris blew himself up."

"I swear she was on the Platinum Music Awards." The voices said, among other comments that neither girl could make out.

"I think were done here." Jade said. "CHECK!" She shouted. Seconds later, the waiter and the Maitre d' showed up.

"Sorry, we had no idea." The Host was saying. "Please, come this way. We need to get you out of this crowd. I think we have a private room open."

Tori and Jade were quickly moved to a small out of the way room that neither had noticed, hidden just off from the restrooms, in a hall hidden behind an 'Employes only' sign. Once there, they were able to resume their meal in peace.

"They remembered you." Jade said, smirking, as they got back to eating.

Tori didn't answer. As embarrassing as the whole ordeal was, it felt nice to be remembered. She made a mental note to call the paparazzi some time in the future, when she felt that announcing their relationship wouldn't end in Jade being arrested for assault. 'Just so they won't be asking too many questions.'

After that encounter, and the rest of their date, Tori went home to relax before the rest her busy weekend. The movie wasn't going to be easy, and Tori was finding out just how hard it could be.

Beck wasn't prepared for shooting outdoors or other situations where they didn't control everything. As a result they had to shoot each scene more often than they had planned. Beck had been thinking he could do it in maybe two to three takes for each shot, counting on their skills and preparation while covering the possibility of a bad take or bloopers. Normally he could have, but the world did not play along. Random sounds, cars or plains going by, caused them to have to redo multiple scenes. In the end, he had to do twice the number of takes per scene, and that put him behind schedule. They would need to do some more filming.

Jade was a surprisingly good sport about the whole thing, and helped out when she could. But the goth had editing and effects to add to her own work, and that included removing some of the sounds she didn't want in her film. So her weekend was also flurry of activity, as Jade perfected her project. Jade, however, was done by the end of the next week, and ready for her groups project to be shown. Beck would spend that time filming.

Both girls were exhausted by the time they had their next date, one week from the last one. They'd spent as much time as they could together, but Beck had them shooting every day to make up for lost time. They even had a couple of shots scheduled for that weekend, but with Jade's previous experience and Becks groups preparations, they managed to catch up and would only need to film half a day on Saturday.

Jade knew she'd have to make up time, make up for the lost week of hanging out. Even though not officially counted as Dates, each day together lost was another step they'd have to make up. Jade had learned that most of a relationship is what you do day to day, and that as impressive as Beck could be when he wanted to charm someone, most of the time he just wanted to hang. She would be lying if she said she was much different. She loved going out, but spending time with the one you love is the main point.

Jade's plan was simple. The Venice Boardwalk was having it's "whenever we feel like it" fair, and she was going to take Tori. They'd go out on Friday, traditional stuff including dinner and baby golf, then on Saturday she'd take her girlfriend to the fair as soon as the filming was done. Jade would get to hold Tori on the rides, and they could steal kisses, hold hands, and do whatever else as they walked through the various carnival attractions. Jade had even brushed up on her carnival skills, and was hoping to win Tori some overpriced under-quality stuffy at one of the games.

Tori was happy with the Friday excursion, and Jade let her girlfriend know that she'd be helping out on Saturday, as well as wanting to go swimming on Sunday. "You should come over to mine." Tori said. "My father's easier to deal with. Especially if we're just swimming."

"But my place has the community center, and it has a killer pool." Jade argued.

"And I'm sharing that body of your with how many rich folk?" Tori asked. 'Funny, they have a pool at the house too. Why didn't she mention that?'

"Your place it is." Jade agreed.

The carnival was everything Jade had hoped it would be. Less crowded than the various amusement parks that surrounded Los Angeles, they were able to enjoy shorter lines for the rides and attractions. Further, they had the view of the ocean to entertain them. Jade won Tori a couple of stuffed animals, and Tori managed to give two of them away before they'd left the park. "I'm telling you, that little girl needed a stuffed gorilla." Tori defended her actions. "And the giraffe, it was made for Cat. When I saw her, I had to toss it over too her." Jade wasn't caring about any of that. She'd had a blast, and was enjoying the high that came with feeling so connected to someone else. Besides, it was just so Tori to give away some of her prizes.

Tori had to remind herself about her deal. Jade was vulnerable. Tori had no idea, before that moment, how guys saw that stuff. But Tori could tell, the right words, the right atmosphere, and Jade was hers for the taking. 'Too bad I'm a good person.' She frowned at the thought. 'Hands off.' Instead, she had to console herself with a little over the shirt actions. Tori had, on the rides, briefly squeezed Jade's breasts, and enjoyed every second of it. She was that much closer to Jade letting her in, bot sexually and emotionally. Tori was much more interested in the latter. 'Besides, she owed me that much.'

Sunday at the pool, Jade was again having fun. Trina, however, was talking to them both about something important that was on the older girls mind. "Tori, I'm serious. This is important."

"Whats so important that your interfering with our little pool party?" Jade asked.

"Party's the right word." Trina replied. "Tori has been so busy with the project, and dating you, that she hasn't attended one party in the last three weeks."

"So?" Jade asked. "When I was with Beck, we only hit a couple of parties per month. Whats the big?"

"We used to hit about two per week." Trina said. "People notice when you just disappear. And since you two as a couple isn't general knowledge, I'm left telling people that Tori's seeing someone while working on a big school project, and she'll be there when she's ready."

"No problem." Tori said. "We'll go to a party next weekend." The Latina was smiling. She did kind of miss those social gatherings.

"As what?" Jade asked.

"A couple." Tori replied. "Jade, these are kind of my friends, and they deserve to know why I'm dropping out of the heavy party scene. Besides, you'll have fun. We'll have fun. I know how to be safe, and this will be my chance to teach you all my survival tricks. And we'll have so much fun." Tori insisted.

"Okay, but just to let you know, I'm prepared to defend what mine." Jade told her.

"Jade." David called out from the house. "We've scheduled your ride along for next week. I'll email you the details, but I was able to convince Gary to have you tag along with us for a couple of hours on Thursday."

"That another thing." Tori said. "Why didn't you take care of this last week?" Tori tried not to sound judgmental.

"I was helping Beck. Now that that's done, I'm going to fulfill my court ordered rehab, and be a free woman." Jade smirked. "Just try and stay true to me while I'm in police custody."

"Just try and stay in your panties if you get all sexy and hurt during your court ordered police ride alongs." Tori warned. "I may not be able to control myself if I have to go all sexy nurse on you."

"And I may lose my lunch if you two don't stop flirting right in front of me." Trina said. The older girl was smiling, however, and was starting to enjoy having her sister happy. "Jade, remember, pester your father until he gets me an autographed copy. Amanda Rothschild's latest, hard cover, and comped."

"You think I have that kind of influence?" The writer asked.

"I think you're good at getting what you want." Trina replied. Tori was trying not to laugh. Jade would never get her father to agree to a free autographed copy of the yet to be released next book in Amanda Rothschild's 'Layers of Shadow' series. It was madness for Trina to ask, yet somehow Tori felt that her sister believed that if she asked often enough, then she'd get one. "And if you could get two, my mother would love a copy too." Jade rolled her eyes as Tori burst out laughing.

Monday at school, Tori was walking to her locker and found herself face to face with Beck. Apparently the Canadian had been waiting for her near his own locker, and when she approached her locker, he walked over. Andre, had been near him at his own locker, and was sent to distract Jade so they could have a short conversation. "So Jade said you were thinking of taking her to a party?"

"Yea." Tori said. "Trina and I usually hit a couple each week, and we're kinda missed by that crowd."

"I just wanted to make sure Jade was okay with that plan." Beck told her.

"You guys went to parties all the time." Tori was feeling a little miffed. "Whats the diff?"

"The difference is Jade and I were together, in all things, before I thought of letting her get drunk at a party." He said. "Jade's walking into your world now, and she's not really ready for it."

"Don't worry, I'm in this for the long haul." Tori assured her friend. "Jade's safer with me than with you. I know all the tricks guys play to get what they want, and I'll teach her to be safe."

"Okay. I like that plan." The actor said. "But tell me where your going to be, and I'll show up too."

"Jade and I don't need a chaperone." Tori snapped.

"But I want to learn how to be safe at parties." He said, sounding a little like a petulant child. He seemed to look past Tori for a second. "Look, times up, I gotta go. Let me know when and where." With that, the boy disappeared into the moving throng of students, and was gone.

"So what did he want?" Jade asked as she aproached.

"He found out I was going to teach you how to be safe at parties, and wanted to know himself." Tori said. 'No reason to lie.'

"I'm safe." Jade protested.

"No, you're lucky." Tori replied. "I could have you in a night. But I want you for longer."

"Really?' Jade asked.

"Some drugs can be made form various recopies found on line, and you can get others without prescription in Mexico or similar places. The variety is staggering, but it's not usually drugs as much as booze. Most of the time, they just try and get you drunk. I personally don't want to be that rare exception who's drugged, like those guys at that party. They probably made up a large portion of the date rape population in the party scene." Tori lectured. "The other thing to know is that even when it's safe, drinking can bring out the worst in people. Never go to a party alone. Always have someone to watch out for you. And if you do hook up, make sure that you tell whomever your there with. Everyone stays safe."

"Okay." Jade said. "I guess it's nice that your father taught you how to be safe at parties."

"Trina taught me." The Latina told her girlfriend. "We should be getting to class."

:}

No people were drugged in the research for this story. Also, the pinky swear was in tribute to disnickyX. What can I say, I love "Like Cats and Dogs."

So, thoughts on the tricks to survive parties. I take all comments. Review, and next time I'll tell you about the party. Okay, I'll probably tell anyways, but still review.


	19. Chapter 19 Surviving a party

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, or any of it's characters. The OC's, however, are all mine. Please enjoy.

:}

The young couple continued to meet up for the rest of the week, except for the two very tense nights where Tori waited at home for Jade to return from her time in the police cruiser. For the singer it was almost surreal. Tori had never done this when her father was in uniform, she and Trina were too young. By the time they were old enough to know how dangerous it was out there, Detective Vega didn't put his life on the line the way he used to. Now, if he even went into a dangerous situation, he was behind a tactical unit in as much body armor as he was allowed to wear.

But this was different. Jade was with a police cruiser, and she could wind up in danger at any moment. Or she could spend the whole time giving speeding tickets. Neither was a scenario Tori was looking forward to. If Jade didn't at least think she might be shot at, she'd feel the whole thing was a waist of her time. But if she was, Tori might hug her into the hospital. It was one of the most nerve wracking times in Tori's life. If it weren't for one of those ever so rare mother daughter talks, Tori would have gone mad waiting. Holly might not have been the best mother, but she'd lived through that very fear for years. That understanding was a form of comfort.

After the second ride, when Jade returned with Tori's dad, the singer hugged Jade so tight she was worried about breathing. The hug loosened, but never let go. "Jade, please, I need something from you." Tori said.

"Okay, let me breath, and we'll see what we can do, okay?" Jade was patient. Cat could be overly excitable, and the goth was used to hugs like this. But Cat was easy enough to dislodge.

"Not letting go." Tori said. "I could have lost you, and I'm not letting go."

"Then you'll have to wait to ask me, because dad is expecting me home soon." Jade replied.

"Stay the night?" Tori shifter to look her girlfriend in the eye, and the writer could see the worry etched deep in the Latina's brown eyes.

"I can't. I need to get home." Jade said. "Look, Tori, I had no idea you'd be so worried. Today all we did was interview people, checking to see if anyone's alibi stuck. Nothing dangerous. I made your dad take me to the morgue just to add a little interest to my day. Yesterday we patrolled, and the scariest thing was a couple of drug dealers, but we got them and I didn't have to get out of the car. Nothing to worry about." Jade smiled. "And I want to wait just a little longer before we do anything intimate."

"No sex. I just want to spend the night with you." Tori said. She'd loosened her grip more, and Jade could slip out now. The writer didn't, instead trying to comfort her girlfriend.

"I understand. My god, how does your mother survive?" Jade tried to change the subject.

"Dad's not usually in the line of fire any more." Tori explained. "Now about spending the night together." That breathtaking smile almost broke Jade's resolve.

"Not tonight." Jade said. "I still have chores to do before the weekend."

"Tomorrow then." Tori tried. "After the party, you come home with me."

"Or you cold spend the night at My place." Jade suggested.

"Who'll make sure Trina gets home safely?" Tori asked. She pouted, and again Jade felt a shot to her resolve.

"I'll ask Beck." Jade said. "If your parents are okay with it, and Beck is willing to look after Trina, then you can spend the night at my place."

"You do that." Tori said. 'I'll ask a couple of friends, just in case Beck isn't able to help.' Tori had no intention of losing out on her night with Jade. It had escalated beyond sex. Tori needed to feel the goth next to her, just long enough to relax about the risks the girl had been taking. Jade was dangerous, but Tori didn't care. No one person was more dangerous than a druggie with a gun, and Tori knew that was what too many cops dealt with on the streets. She didn't want to lose Jade yet. 'Great, I'm in love first. This isn't helping.' Of course, Tori knew she'd probably already fallen for the goth, but it was confirmed now.

They said their goodbys, and Jade slowly pried herself out of Tori's grip. One last kiss, and Jade was gone. Then Tori tried to drill her dad about what really happened. "Tori, relax. We don't bring kids into dangerous situations. Jade was never in any real danger." He assured her. "Now go to bed. I need to flush the image of you coming on to her, right in front of me, out of my memory." Tori wanted to protest, but decided she'd rather have her weekend with Jade.

The next day, Tori was slowly growing more and more agitated. Beck was his usual calm self, but she wasn't able to get him alone to ask if he'd help until they were in Sikowitz's class. 'I wonder if he's been avoiding me?' She'd thought. He may have said he'd forgiven her, but she knew she had hurt him, a lot. But if she was going to have her night, she needed Beck's help. Again.

"My young students." The coconut loving teacher started. "By now, you've all finished the big project I've assigned you. I have some good news. Amanda Rothschild is sending a representative to watch the finished products next week, and we will see how well each group did. Jade, I'm especially looking forward to seeing what you were able to do, considering that most of the acting talent was with the other group. Until then, I want each of you to write a one act play by next Tuesday. It can be about anything you want, but it cannot run for more than fifteen minutes, must have at least two characters, and be something we could pull off as a class. Beck, Jade, both of you are excused form this assignment. You can still do it, but I want each of you to be ready to help judge the other students work. We will be putting on those plays over the rest of the week. Tori, Cat, Andre and Robbie, expect to play a lot of lead rolls as the plays are performed. With Beck and Jade out of the performance pool, it will fall on you to carry the whole thing."

"That's not fair." Jade said, almost standing up. Tori put a calming hand on her, and the goth sat back down. Her eyes, however, challenged their teacher.

"Jade, I'm excusing you from this because there's nothing for you to prove. You and Beck are the two students who've had multiple plays and other things you've written performed, often by this very school. I know both of you can do this. More importantly, I'll need your help to do the judging." Sikowitz explained. "Especially you Jade. We need a mean judge. Channel your inner Simon Cowl and really bring in the insults."

"I mean it's not fair assuming none of the shruggers can play a lead." Jade said, ignoring the request. "They may not have the talent, or charisma that we do, but they're not horrible." She stood up, and this time Tori didn't try to stop her. "I know they could handle all kinds of rolls, and not just background. Were not looking at the next generation of shrubbery and topiary. They are actors, and can do anything we need them to. Let them have the chance to shine, to show you what they've shown me. Given the right motivation, they're more than good enough."

"And I can see that the filming assignment has more than done it's job. Jade is impressed." The teacher said. "But Jade, while we all accept that, and I know these young men and women will be able to find work, they're not at the level of talent that you six are at. I was just assuming that they'd want he best playing the leading roles in their plays."

"Besides, we won't be acting as if our lives depended on it." A voice from one of the shruggers rang out. Tori had no idea who he was, nor the desire to find out.

"Yes, Jade has that effect." Sikowitz said. "Lets just be clear. Jade is learning one of the most important abilities a director can acquire, how to get the performance you need out of your talent. I'm really looking forward to Monday and Tuesday, when we see your projects. After that, we won't be doing much else for your semester grades, beyond a lot of classroom exercises, like the one act plays. It's just another excuse to see you all act, and to work on weak points."

Sikowitz froze, thinking for a second. "And now that I've said it I agree with Jade, we will need to have the other six students playing the leads in those plays. Robbie, Cat, Tori and Andre will play supporting roles and will learn that there are no small parts. Beck and Jade will help me get the best out of all my students."

"Doesn't Jade need this too?" Andre asked.

"What roles did you think she was playing in the big film project?" Rex said. For once no one was offended by the puppets comments. Jade was impressed that the puppet noticed.

The rest of the class was spent mentoring the students, talking about what kinds of roles they might be able to play. Tori spent it glancing over at Beck, waiting for her chance to talk to him.

After class, Tori was able to corner Beck. "So tonight we're going to Ryder Daniels' party." She said.

"I thought he hater you, you know, from the full moon jam?" Beck said. He'd made sure there were a couple of people withing line of sight, just to avoid any possible misconceptions. He told himself he didn't want Jade angry at him, but part of him just didn't want to be alone with Tori at that moment. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, he just didn't feel comfortable being alone with her.

"He does, but we're on the 'A' list for parties, so we're expected. I'll bring you, even teach you want to look for, but you need to make sure Trina get home safely, okay?" Tori asked.

"Deal." Beck said. "This is going to be an experience." He was smiling now, his earlier discomfort melting away. "Come on Tori, you know as actors we need to have as many experiences as we can. Even third hand, this will open up all kinds of roles for me in the future, not to mention how it'll help my writing."

"Glad we're in agreement." Tori said, and shook his hand. She then started her way towards the next part of her day.

As Tori was walking away from Beck, she heard Jade approach him. "Beck, I was wondering if you could help me out..." Tori smiled. Jade had kept her word. She'd have to remember that Jade does that. It felt good knowing the goth kept her word.

That evening Jade picked up Tori and Trina. Beck was A list on his own, and would have no trouble getting into the party, even if he usually didn't attend many events like this. All the girls wanted him there, so no one would even try to keep him out. As a result, he'd meet them there. "Jade, you look beautiful." Tori complemented her date. Tori smiled, and hefted her overnight bag. She threw it into the back seat before taking shotgun, letting her sister sit next to the bag and Jade's shovel.

"Yea yea, just remember, if you nail Jade tonight, I'll need a ride home." Trina added as she got into the car.

"Trina!" Tori screamed at her sister. The singer was grateful Jade was driving. Killing Trina would put a damper on their night, and her older sister would make comments even if she was driving. "There won't be sex tonight. I'm just going to spend it with Jade so that I can use their spa in the morning."

Jade tensed for a second, but seemed to realize it was just a joke. She calmed down and started to drive. "If Ryder tries anything, I'll kick his ass." Jade told Tori, changing the subject.

"Or I will." Trina chimed in. "What? I'm a protective big sister."

"Yet you let her date me." Jade shot back.

"But she's not the one in danger in that relationship." Trina said, smiling so brightly that her face was in danger of exploding.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Jade huffed. She was keeping her eyes on the road, but glanced at Trina in her mirror..

"Just that you're the more smitten of the two. I can rest easy knowing that if something happens, Tori started it." Trina told them. "Even dad is more worried that Tori will try something first. Asked me to keep an eye on her. I already do. And while we're talking about this, and lets be honest, Jade here is a long term relationship person. I can relax and worry about the pervs in this world. And before you say it, it will be my job at least until I'm in collage."

"Goody." Jade deadpanned. Tori, however, was having trouble pushing down that feeling she got when she was reminded that Trina was looking out for her. It buried her protests that she wasn't the most likely to try something.

They arrived at the party, and immediately had trouble finding parking. They didn't want to be too close, but park too far away and there was the possibility of trouble. They did find a spot down the street under a streetlight. From there, they texted Beck and found where he would be waiting for them. He was just parking himself, and he'd chosen a spot in the other direction from the house.

They met up with Beck and his date, as well as Andre. The six then entered the party together. Ryder's party was big enough that he didn't bother locking the door. Instead he had a couple of 'Uniformed' security people to escort out anyone making trouble. (Actually, it was just t-shirts. But they did say security.). 'This is new.' Tori thought. 'Bouncers.'

Once in, the group of friends split up. Andre and Beck's date took off to see what there was to do, while Tori led Beck through the party. She explained her process of scoping things out before getting anything to drink. "Always know who looks like potential troublemakers. Also, where everything you might need is. Even little things, like if any bathroom is isolated. And you take precautions based on that data." She told him. She found her friends, as well as a lot of people she knew. The other thing she found was a couple of dozen guys with custom shirts that said "Ryder's Security", just like the bouncers at the front door. From there, they found where they would set camp, and then kinda scattered.

"Once we have a place that's safe, we can go out, dance, get drinks, that kind of chiz." Tori had to yell just to be heard. "Normally we like someplace quiet, but it's a good idea to have someone you trust watching the dance floor. Then you find out who's driving. They'll stay sober, and wind up doubling as the person you check in with thought the night. Make sure you have a couple of people you trust around if the driver is going to be coming and going. You don't want them driving someone home when you need help. I've already covered safe drinking habits, so that should be everything. I'm going to dance now." Tori grabbed Jade's hand and led the girl onto the dance floor.

The party was wild, but contained. The security guys seemed to have a couple of jobs, including a guy who walked around and checked to make sure everyone was okay. One girl was hired to drive people home. Her partner, a large intimidating guy, would drive behind her and take her back to the party. Sometimes he'd drive, if the car was full of guys, and she'd follow. The result of all the semi professional security was that the police only came by once, and after Ryder turned down the music everyone was happy. Tori did mention to Beck how that was unusual, but Ryder was pulling out all the stops to have a great party after the date rape drug scare from a few weeks before.

The party was everything Tori remembered, lots of noise, her friends drinking and telling jokes, talking to whomever about whatever. In the end, a lot of the party scene was just letting go, and Tori was good at that. Her stress slowly drifting with the music. Jade was a big help, dancing with her and otherwise just being there. Tori took the goth out to the pool area and sat her down on the grass to make out for a bit. The party was safe, the safest she'd ever remembered, so they decided to just enjoy themselves for a while. No one was bothering them, and even the guys who stared at them gave them space.

After a bit they then went back inside and danced for a while more. Things were going great, but Tori was becoming aware of how much she wanted to take advantage of the rooms upstairs. It was time to say goodnight and go, so the party atmosphere didn't influence her to make too much of a push. Finally, she looked Jade in the eyes and said "Take me home and to bed." Tori smiled at the goth, and hoped things worked out, no matter what happened. 'God, I want you so much.' Tori thought. They told Trina and Beck they were leaving, and walked out together. The last thing they saw was Robbie and Cat dancing together, with Sam near by, keeping an eye on them.

"If he has them both tonight, I'll have to reassess my opinion of the boy." Jade joked. Tori was immediately sobered at the idea of the two hot girls giving Robbie a three-way.

'Please, if it happens, let it be at their apartment.' Tori silently prayed. Saturday morning was going to be awkward enough without the addition of extra people. That prayer led to other thoughts.

Tori felt dirty, not just from her desires for Jade, but because she actually saw, in her mind, a good approximation of Cat and Sam naked. She even was able to add Robbie, easier than she'd like since she knew the boys built. He occasionally took his shirt off at school, not to mention the multiple pictures of him in cloths that were obviously his sisters.

Tori shuddered internally. The images were making her horny, and she was trying to leave those thoughts back at the party. Guilt followed. Cat was almost as much a sister to her as Trina. Tori also kinda felt like anyone who was too intimate with the innocent Valentine girl was guilty of something akin to molesting a child.

"Tori?" Jade's voice was her beacon, pulling the singer out from her conflicting emotions and the image that had refused to go away. "You with me? If I have to take care of your drunk ass, I get something for it."

"If that means what I hope it does, I may need to drink some more." Tori gave a leering smirk, letting Jade know just how ready she was to go to the next level.

"And now I'm straight." Was the goths reply, rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure I can't change your mind?" Tori slipped into a more husky voice, the naked desire fading from her face, replaced by an unnaturally innocent expression. Tori's smile was saccharin sweet, while her eyes screamed for attention.

With a loud sigh, the writer gave in, but only on her earlier fears. "Tori, believe it or not, I do want this. I'm... I'm just not sure if I'm ready." She held Tori with her eyes, enforcing the pause. Then she looked back towards the road, saying "Sometimes I'm afraid I'll never be ready. I've been hurt before, and I'm leery of giving my heart away."

"Then we trade." Tori suggested. "I'll give you mine, and you give me yours."

"I've heard that before..." The goth didn't date that many people, so Tori wasn't sure how she'd been hurt in the past. She suspected she may never find out. Instead, she concentrated on how she's get back to where they were when they were leaving the party.

"How about this." She pulled back, shifting so that all the sex was hidden in her voice and body. It was time to earn a little trust. "You know you can trust me, tell me anything, and you know it goes no further. However, to get some, sometimes you need to give, so I'll go first."

Jade focused on driving, but gave a little nod to let Tori know she was listening. The singer, however, was wracking her brain for the right thing to share. Some secrets didn't involve just her, and she wouldn't win points by breaking other peoples trust. Others were either too mundane, or things she was not ready to share. She decided on two, just to show she was open. Besides, the one was so scary, it had to win points.

"Okay, Jade, I'll tell you two of my biggest secrets, but I'm counting on you not sharing them with anyone else, okay?" Tori asked.

"Sure." The goth said. "Only let me record them, so I can post... Kidding." Jade hadn't looked to see the shock on Tori's face. "Really, I appreciate the gesture, but don't do it just to make me like you more. Just be willing to give me time. That's really what I need."

"I masturbate." Tori said. She watched Jade's face for some kind of reaction.

:}

Here's a fun fact. Many people hide deep, dark secrets that no one else cares about. Or maybe they are a mini-scandal, but nothing most people would worry about. That being said, what do you think Jade's reaction will be to hearing Tori's confession?

Also, this was a lot of words that helped fill in time and details. We know they're growing closer. Also, that Tori's dad isn't in danger, day to day, any more. But the big thing was what I assumed were a decent set of rules for surviving a party. Hope that helped. I don't drink (Weird, right.) So I don;'t know all the rules.

Anyways, reviews are appreciated. It helps me know if I'm doing things right, or if someone is missing something. So review, and let me know.


	20. Chapter 20 Reactions to secrets

Disclaimer. Don't own. Don't sue.

Trigger warning. Mention of molestation. Minor.

:}

"I masturbate." Tori said. She watched Jade's face for some kind of reaction. She'd just admitted what to her was the biggest secret she had that she'd ever shared. Her heart was hammering waiting for a reply.

"What, all the time? Are you rubbing one out every time you go to the bathroom?" Jade asked, her voice surprisingly neutral.

"No, just a couple of times a week." Tori said quickly, defending herself. Inwardly she couldn't believe Jade just blew this huge confession off. "I like to fantasize about celebrities. God I was so embarrassed when Mason introduced me to Katy Perry." Tori was turning red.

"Let me guess, you were asked to shake her hand, and you use your right hand to touch yourself?" Jade said, again without any emotion in her voice. "Personally, I'd be worried that my hand might slip, touch her tit."

"Why?" Tori squeaked out.

"That's the part of her I focus on when I do it." Jade replied. "Tori, most people touch themselves. It's natural. Beck was doing it even when we were hot and heavy. I caught him whacking it to a Katy Perry video, and I had to admit I'd done it to that video myself to calm his ass down. Then, for the next month, her video was on every time I came over. The boy didn't understand, if I was in the mood for tit's, his were just too small. Yours however, they'll do nicely."

Somehow Jade's attempt at reassurance didn't help, and Tori was even redder. Moreover, the goth had exposed more of herself than Tori had. The Latina was aware, in getting Jade to trust her, she had to make some heavy moves. 'But touching myself was the deeply embarrassing one.' She thought. 'God, I was the cool girl who went to a lot of parties and had tried casual sex. Now I'm the prude who didn't know others masturbated too.'

"Tori, relax. You don't have to prove anything to me. I understand. But trust, it's not traded for, it's earned." Jade assured her girlfriend. A hand briefly touched the other girls.

"I know." The singer sighed. "My other confession was kinda lame. I was going to tell you about how my first boyfriend tried to convince me to sleep with him by telling me that he had to see how I matched up to his last girlfriend. Kept bragging about all the girls he'd had, and that if I wasn't good enough, then he'd have to move on. I stayed with that jerk for over three months before things came to a head and Trina told him to take a hike."

"Please tell me you didn't sleep with him." Jade said.

"Only because Trina told me that if I did, I'd get a reputation. She got tired of me not telling him to go, took the initiative and threatened him, said it would get bad if he ever pressured me again. He mentioned her breasts, she reacted and then he was gone. I think he might still be running." Tori said with a chuckle. "Of course, I wound up giving it up to a different jerk, but I held out until I was fourteen."

"I was fifteen when I was with Beck for the first time. You have no idea how nervous I was. And it wasn't just because it was my first time. You see, I was molested by one of my fathers business friends when I was younger." Jade's voice was still neutral. Tori felt her blood freeze. "I was in therapy. Lots of anger about that, but I'm working on it. I can even talk about it now, but I still have nightmares."

Jade glanced at Tori, letting the Latina know it was all right. "He only touched me, and thanks to my dad's ex boss, that's as far as it got. I'm lucky someone was there for me, willing to believe me. The guy who hurt me told me that if I told anyone, my dad would get in trouble, and he'd be so ashamed of me for telling that I'd get in trouble. My dad would never want to see me again. So I had to protect his secrets. By then it was almost habit to protecting his secrets, his secret family that no one was supposed to know existed. But this guy, he wasn't finished. He said that if I told anyone, my mother would also get in trouble. I had to protect her as well. I was already bound by my families web of secrecy, and this guy, this monster, he took advantage." Tori would never understand how Jade could say that without shedding a tear. But Jade had shed plenty by then, and didn't think this man was worth one more. It wasn't easy, but she kept those emotions in check. Later, she's scream her head off.

"Of course, my dad's boss at the time, great old guy who my dad still kinda works with today, he noticed I wasn't my usual peppy self. Sat me down one day and just talked. Took him hours to get me admit something was wrong, but I was too bound by the family secrets. But he suspected. He knew some of the signs of abuse, and being the great old guy he was, hired someone to look into what was going on. Long story short, that friend of my dad, he's went to prison and learned what it was like to be the bitch. Not sure what else happened to him. My dad pretends it never happened, cause it makes him look like a crappy father. But my dad's ex boss, that old guy saved my ass. Been in therapy, on and off, ever since." Jade finished her tale, and beyond her knuckles turning white from the force of her gripping the steering wheel, seemed almost unaffected.

Tori was just staring. "Thought it didn't get any worse for me, didn't you?" Jade managed to smile. "It happened when I was little, barely seven. Only lasted a few weeks before the police were involved." Jade had arrived home, and took the moment to look Tori in the eye. "I'm the kind who will one up you every time, no matter how much it hurts, just because I hate to lose. I should apologize about that." Jade emphasized the "should". "If it makes you feel better, I've only been with Beck, and as you know, he's not the best lay. I'll let your experience edge be your win, just so you don't feel like I'm always topping you."

"I can be a bottom, if you want me to." Tori said. "Oh my god, that was insensitive of me."

"It's okay. We both know where this is going. I just need time. Trust me, Tori, once I trust you, know you won't hurt me, not deliberately, then were fine." Jade said, reassuring her girlfriend. "As for the trading hearts line, that guy didn't get in my pants, but that's because he had the chance to get in the pants of a cheerleader. I almost dated him before I dated Beck. Kinda the reason I went after Beck, to prove I was worth more than some slutty cheerleader. And since I've been talking far too much, lets go in and watch a movie."

"Why scary movies?" Tori asked.

"After the chiz I've been through, they aren't so scary. Besides, the violence is often so fake." Jade smiled.

"Whatever you say."

They watched a couple of movies, one scary for Jade, and one musical comedy for them both. Jade laughed at both, while Tori felt safe in Jade's arms through the first, and sang along for the second. Tori also took advantage of the scary movie to feel Jade up. She simply claimed she was scared (She was). "I groped in self defense." She'd protested. Jade seemed willing to let it go.

Robbie showed up somewhere along the way, but he went straight to bed and Tori didn't know he was there until Jade pointed it out. By that point, it was after three AM, and time to sleep. Jade took Tori to her room. "We don't have a guest room. Kinda goes with the territory when you have two full families living in one house. We would, but we needed an office for my dad, and a computer room for the rest of us. Kinda a family office. Not important right now. You can use the ensuite to change, I'll change out here." Jade told her.

"Thanks." Tori said. 'Or I could take a seat and watch.' Tori quickly moved into the bathroom and closed the door. 'Hold it together, Tori. Soon enough, she'll be yours.' Tori busied herself getting into her nightclothes. She put her toiletries on the counter for the morning, opened the door just a bit, and started brushing her teeth. Jade joined her and they managed to get in each others way as they cleaned up to go to bed. When Tori finished, she'd managed to grab Jade's ass twice, but once was an accident.

They lay together, and Tori wrapped the writer in her arms. "Do you think Sikowitz is going to like the projects?" Tori asked.

"He'll love them. He just needed something to grade for his students who aren't in a lot of plays. It's kinda hard to grade people for acting when they only get to play a bush." Jade replied. "Now, as much as I love you, it's time to sleep."

Tori froze. 'Did Jade just say?' Suddenly the whole thing took on a new meaning, and Tori wondered how much she'd really been getting away with and how much Jade had just singer was starting to freak out. "Jade? You awake?"

"Yea?" Jade replied, just a bit annoyed, and Tori felt her tense up.

"I just wanted to say I love you two." The singer said. Jade relaxed again in her arms.

"We really need a guest room. Maybe we don't need a second home office. Dad could rent a place, or maybe we could buy some kind of granny cottage. Someplace where guests can stay." Jade said, speaking as she slowly nodded off. Her words were more and more strained, she was fading even as she explained. "Someplace for my grandparents, or maybe me..." Jade went silent, and Tori just snuggled into her back. She enjoyed the warmth.

Tori lay there, lost in the moment, not allowing herself to think about the things Jade had been through. Given the goths past, she seemed almost normal now. But Jade did have years to process what had happened to her. 'The slut shaming must have really hurt her.' Tori thought, but not for long, sleep was overcoming her too, so she just pulled her girlfriend a little closer, and tried to think about what everything meant.

Tori didn't know when she fell asleep, but was awakened by the sunlight fighting it's way through Jade's thick curtains. Looking about, she took her first good look around her girlfriends room. She'd been here before, but had other things on her mind, so didn't take the time to really drink in the surroundings. Jade's room was so normal, with brown wallpaper and normal furnishings. Only the butterflies on the wall and her shelf of oddities gave away the personality of it's owner. 'It helps that her cloths are in the closet.' Tori smiled to herself. Jade was blanketed in an atmosphere of normalcy. As normal as someone who doesn't like the sun would have.

"Morning." Jade said. The first hint she was awake.

"Morning. So, what you wanna do?" Tori asked.

"Lets start by trying to use as many complete sentences as possible." Jade joked. Tori just groaned. "You wanna use the shower first?"

"Sure." Tori quickly took her shower, then as she dried herself she put her toiletries and lotions away. 'No reason to leave these out. If I stay another night, I'll have them in my bag.' She reasoned.

Jade took her turn in the shower, and Tori wandered down stairs to find some breakfast. As she moved though the living room, she saw an open door to the side, and Mister Shapiro was in there.

"Good morning Tori. I didn't know you'd stayed the night." He said. He seemed truly neutral about the situation. His daughters girlfriend wandering around his house first thing in the morning, and he reacted like he'd just run into her at the mall.

"Yea. Nothing improper, not yet. I was just... Well, I wanted to hold her." Tori felt nervous.

"I understand. Young love is so, um, undignified." He was serious. "No, awkward is probably the better word. Once you're used to each other, it's not such a burden."

"Jade's not a burden." Tori protested. "She still believes in love, unlike some people."

"Now Tori, I'm not in the mood to hear you sermonize about my life style." He shot back. He seemed just as cold, but there was a spark of something under the cold tone in his voice.

"I know, the mistress and the wife, that chiz seems wrong to me, but Jade says it's the way you were raised. I'm talking about having both families living together in this house." Tori didn't know why she was standing up to him, except maybe she was tired of the way this man ran Jade's life. 'Using money that's not even his to control Jade, that's wrong. And after he ignored...'

"What was I supposed to do? I had the cash, it was the most humane thing I could do." He was getting angry, and reminded her far more of Jade than Robbie at that moment.

"Yea, YOU had the money. I wonder, what does miss Rothschild think of this little arrangement?" Tori half screamed. "I mean, you using this house to play big man with two families? I'm amazed you didn't trade Jade's mother in for a younger model."

"I care about my family, which is one of the reasons Ihaven't thrown you out for challenging my authority. When Jade requested we buy the house, I knew it was a chance for her to finally have that sense of family she'd been missing." He was trying to calm himself, not used to being this emotional, so he didn't really know what he'd said yet. He wouldn't get a chance to amend his statement before Tori had processed what she'd heard.

"Well, I'm sure thats...Wait, Jade requested?" Tori was stunned, and didn't hear the footsteps behind her. People were drawn to find out who'd had the nerve to challenge the patriarch of he household. "I thought Miss Rothschild owned the house."

"She-, she does." For the first time since Tori had known him, Henry Shapiro seemed off balance. "She approved... Thought it was a good investment..." Tori stared at him, not sure what to believe. Unlike his oldest children, the man had no gift for improve. He quickly withdrew back into his cold exterior, but not before someone else added to the argument.

Misses Edith Shapiro was standing by his side, and addressed Tori in a calm voice. "Jade's wanted us to live together." Tori started to ask something, but was cut off. "Jade owns the house."

Tori was stunned. 'How? I mean, she went through so much to hide this family, and somehow, what?' Tori's thoughts scrambled in her growing confusion.

Misses Shapiro continued to speak. "Jade wanted a nice place, where her family could live. But when Henry suggested we all live together, she agreed. It was a nice thing, but it put her in an awkward situation. Now, with everything coming out, I thought you should know. I think we're past the point of secrets."

Robbie's mother continued to speak, but Tori didn't hear the rest. She was racing up the stairs towards Jade's room. Second later she found herself outside her girlfriends door. Her girlfriends locked door. "Jade, honey, open the door. We need to talk about this." Tori found herself saying. 'She must have heard us and locked herself in.' She thought as she continued to try to talk to the goth. "Jade, please, you can talk to me. Just open the door." Worry started to eat at her. 'My god Jade, this isn't that bad. Please don't do anything stupid. Yes I'm mad, but we can talk this out.' She thought as her fears seemed to multiply. Tori waited outside the door for almost ten minutes before Robbie brought Rex, and the puppet somehow jimmied the lock.

"The queen of darkness is your responsibility. I was never here." Rex said, and as soon as the door was open, Robbie ran off, puppet in tow.

Jade was dressed and lying on the bed, face buried in a pillow. Tori moved cautiously, but in the back of her mind she was panicking. 'Please be breathing.' Jade was known to hurt herself, and this was probably her big secret. "Jade, baby, talk to me."

Looking carefully, she could see Jade's body expand and contract as she breathed. Tori let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "Jade, sweety, we don't have to talk, but please let me in." Tori moved closer. She was half a step away, as close as she could get and still dodge effectively. "Jade, sweety?" Tori didn't know what to do. She reached out to shake Jade's shoulder, but hesitated. Jade might be asleep, and maybe that was the best thing. Tori moved to try and see her girlfriends face. Slowly circling.

"You could maybe... hold me?" Came the writers muffled voice. Tori moved quickly to lie down behind the her girl and envelope her in a hug. Holding Jade was nice, but Tori still felt like there was some issue between them. Somehow, she had to bridge the distance that had grown. Tori had promised they didn't have to talk, but now felt she needed something more than just holding the goth. After a few minutes, she dared saying something.

"So why Amanda Rothschild? As a name, I mean." Tori started.

"You said we wouldn't talk about it." Jade said. The goth didn't sound angry. It was so foreign, how scared and vulnerable she sounded.

"We don't. I was just.." Tori knew what she was doing. 'Trust, Tori. We need her to trust us. I want her to know she can trust me.' Tori was going to continue silently beating herself up, when Jade interrupted her thoughts.

"It's sad. Somehow, out of all the things that I hide, that happened to me, thats my biggest secret. I was so scared of people finding out I'd written love stories for Lonlygirl Publishing. I mean, it's practically prostitution, but I think whores get more respect from their pimps, and better pay." Jade sounded distant, even as she tried to make a joke. "But once I started letting my dad manage my writing career, things got so much better. I made a lot of money. I mean, a lot. If you add the movie rights, international licensingand the other, related projects, and I was making a ton of money. Dad even managed to licensed some side characters for ananimated show. Did you know it's playing in fifteen countries? I'm making a ton of money just for letting them ruin the integrity of my work. I even get money for the fucking toys." Talking about it seemed to help Jade, even as she lay there wrapped in Tori's arms and her own tears.

"So your dad did good?" Tori asked. 'She's probably distracting herself from the shame, for now...' Tori reasoned.

"He's good at what he does. For seven fucking percent, he makes as much money as possible for me, using what I create and earn. And then he had the nerve to take in over five million dollars last year. Grandma says it's the most he's ever made in his life." Jade sounded tired.

"Oh my fucking CHIZ." Tori almost screamed in her girlfriends ear. "Thats the fucking secret. I get it now."

"Calm down." Jade ordered, spinning in Tori's arms to look her in the eye. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've become your fathers boss, but only on paper. No wonder this whole thing is so janked up. The guy you love so much, his old boss, is that guy still in the picture?" The singer was almost Cat level hyper, excited by her recent discovery.

"Yep, he takes a cut of what dad makes from me, and give us a lot of opportunities to invest in return. I hear I own a few inside out burger stores. Lots of other chiz. He's been good for me." Jade said, finally smiling.

"And your dad lives in your house, where he makes the rules, and you follow why?" Tori asked.

"I-I... shut up." Jade said. She was flustered, but not obviously sad any more.

"Make me." Tori returned. Then the Latina kissed the pale girl, and they rolled around as they made out. Tori knew she'd lose, but wasn't giving up the top position without a fight. Soon Jade had her pinned on the bed, both reduced to their underwear. Jade was panting from the effort, but also from the growing need. With her biggest secret out, she was feeling like she was ready. Tori would have gone for it, but felt it was better to wait, and so took care of some other family business first. "Trina wants an autographed copy of your next book."

That one statement broke the tension, and with it the mood. Jade let go of her girlfriend and rolled onto her back. "I'll see what I can do." Then she looked at Tori, trying to decide if what just happened was a good thing or not. "So, is this a favor for my girlfriend, or blackmail?"

"Both." Tori smiled as she took in her girlfriends distress. "It'll keep Trina quiet about you being Amanda Rothschild, but not much more than that. Of course, I'll expect something for keeping her off your case."

"WHAT?" Jade groaned.

"I get to fuck you with a strap-on. Not immediately, but sooner or later, I'm going to nail you." Tori said, smiling.

"Huh?" Jade tried to figure it out, but the demand didn't make sense. "I mean, we'd try that eventually anyways."

"I get to be the man sexually Jade. At least once, I get to be the one who makes you feel like a woman." Tori said, and Jade blushed. 'Victory. She's practically mine.'

Tori held Jade for another half hour before the goth felt ready to face the world. "For the record, who knows?" Jade asked.

"So far, me, your family, and I'm pretty sure you know too." Tori joked. "Or do you also suffer from schizophrenia?"

"Multiple personalities, or as it's now called Dissociative identity disorder, is where you have more then one personality. Schizophrenia is totally different." Jade corrected her girlfriend. 'My girlfriend.' She thought, luxuriating in the warm feeling it brought her. "Dufus."

"Hay!" Tori protested, but she didn't stop smiling. "So, breakfast?"

:}

So, who feels cheated that Jade's biggest secret was she was Amanda Rothschild? I think it's funny how so many secrets mean so little to the people who judge them. Given whats been in the news lately, many of our own secrets are trivial. But their also our business. So, anyways, Jade was willing to put up with so much because of the emotions behind her and her fathers relationship. I think there's more to it then we've seen, but now you know.

Comments, questions, or just thoughts. Reviews are a great place to let me know if this was foreshadowed, obvious, or a total surprise. Also, reviews let me know you approve. Anyways, the jist is, review.

Next, fallout, or lack there of.


	21. Chapter 21 Breakfast and a party

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or any of it's characters. I appreciate the opportunity to play with them, and promise they will be back where I found them when I'm done.

:}

"So whats for breakfast?" Tori asked as they descended the stairs.

"We have the classics." Jade chimed in. "Multiple types of cereal, as well as whatever leftovers this family didn't devour like the pack of piranha's they are. Two teen boys and an early teen girl. Mom and Mrs. Shapiro, they're to get their hand back if the reach for a plate early."

"I suppose I could cook us something." Tori announced as they walked into the kitchen. She went straight to the refrigerator. It was a big unit, but had no freezer. That was because they had a separate, sub-zero freezer next to the pantry. "How does an omelet sound."

"You any good at omelets?" Jade asked.

"Not that good." She replied. "But I can follow directions, make them."

"Go to Robbie's room, get him up." Jade told her. "He makes great omelets."

Tori didn't want to disturb the nerdy boy. However, while looking around she happened to glance out the window, and saw him sitting on a floating lounge chair in the pool. The singer slid the window open and screamed "Robbie, come make us omelets." Her reward was watching him jerk, then fall into the water. As she chuckled, she noticed Rex set up on a lounge chair on the patio. 'Even has shades on.' She noted to herself.

Robbie came trotting in a few seconds later, furiously drying himself before he could drip water all over the house. Tori did worry briefly as he tried to dry is legs while ascending the stairs to the balcony. From there, he entered the house and then the kitchen. "What did you need?" He asked.

"Omelets." Tori replied. "Jade said you make the best omelets."

"Oh." Was his reply. "But I taught Jade. I taught everyone. They make great omelets, almost as good as mine." At the look from Tori, he continued. "I was getting tired of everyone asking me to make omelets, so I made sure they were all nearly as good at making them as I was."

Tori looked at Jade. "Really?' She asked.

"Never said I couldn't make them." Jade replied casually. "He's just better."

"How?" Tori asked. "Would I taste the difference?"

"No, but I this way I won't have to make them." Jade said, as if that was all that needed to be said.

Robbie ignored them and pulled out various vegetables as well as some ham and bacon. He quickly made the bacon as he cut everything up and got all the preparations done. Then he got out another pan and made the omelet. Tori watched with a strange sense of fascination. She could make an omelet, but the way he moved, cutting and preparing showed a level of skill she hadn't seen before.

"How did you get so good at making omelets?" She asked as he served them.

"Dad likes omelets. Everyone likes them. So I make them for my grandma, among others." Robbie explained. "When we moved in with Jade, however, that was when I decided to teach them my secret omelet technique. My patented method of making sure the omelets come out fluffy and delicious every time." He reached down and grabbed a piece of bacon for himself.

"I thought you were Jewish?" Tori asked, pointing at the bacon.

"Turkey bacon. We try to find substitutes whenever we can." He said, shrugging. The omelets were finishing quickly, and the girls had each grabbed one. "Now, if you don't mind, now that the secrets out and blown over, I've invited some friends over to hang by the pool."

"Cat?" Jade asked, savoring her omelet.

"And her roommate." The curly haired boy said. "They were really interested in seeing the place. Practically begged."

"Joy." Jade said, sounding anything but happy.

"Robbie, wait." Tori said quickly, temporarily ignoring her food. "When did you know?"

"That Cat was coming over?" He asked. "They only called to confirm a few minutes ago."

"No, not that." Tori said. "I was wondering..."

"When I learned to cook?" He cut her off. "Back when I learned to cook omelets. I watched a lot of cooking shows. Long before I had one on the slap. Foods always been a passion of mine. Or rather, my dad's. I just wanted to make him proud." He sounded just a touch hurt towards the end.

"Robbie, stop. Do not answer until I ask the question." Tori said in her most firm voice. "When did you know Jade owned the house?"

"About a week ago." He replied. "I noticed Dad made Jade write nightly. After a while, my curiosity got the best of me, and I looked at what she was writing. That's when I knew the truth. Mom just confirmed it for me this morning."

"And why the drama? Avoiding answering?" Tori asked.

"Cause he was afraid of me." Jade growled. "Him, Mark, Stef, none of them were supposed to know."

"Why not?" Tori asked.

"Probably so none of the children feel like their any less then Jade." A female voice chimed in. It was Edith, Mrs. Shapiro. "We decided, as a team, that the others didn't need to know. It also made it easier if Jade here couldn't threaten them. You know, throwing them out or that chiz."

"I would never..." Jade started, standing up to the older woman. Jade's sheer size, at five foot seven inches, caused her to tower over the five foot three inch mother of two. But the older woman stared the goth down. "You... He... You're probably right. I wouldn't do it, but I might threaten..." Her voice faded as she sat back down.

Robbie's mother smiled. "And we didn't want any power games in the house. Well, not counting your father, but he's a complicated man."

"It has to be complicated, working for your own teenage daughter." Tori commented.

"Look, I left Rex out there, and he gets annoyed if I'm not there to make sure he tan's evenly." Robbie said, pointing out the window. "So I'm gonna... Bye." He walked quickly out of the room, out onto the balcony, and down the stairs.

"Henry is just doing what's best for her." Mrs. Shapiro insisted. "I don't try to get involved in the business end of things. I just make sure the house runs smoothly. And with Susan working, that's Jade's mother, by the way. But with her working, I have to take up the parenting slack. I have twice the children to look after then just a few months ago."

"Mrs. West still has a job?" Tori said, to no one in particular.

"Please, it's Miss West. She was never married. But I'm sure she'd prefer if you called her Sue. Or mom." A devious smile crossed the face of the Shapiro matriarch. "Call her mom, let her know just where this is going."

"Edith." Jade warned.

"What?" The older woman said. "It'd be hilarious."

"I think I'll wait." Tori said, and concentrated on finishing her omelet.

"But Sue works. There are all kinds of things she feels a child should have that Henry doesn't agree with. Now that she doesn't have to worry about rent, she go's out and buys that stuff. Foods, amenities, sometimes toys. She even helped get Rex a new set of cloths." Mrs. Shapiro said. "Then there's the pork and other non-kosher foods that parade into this home. But in all fairness, we make them answer the phone on Saturdays." She chuckled. "Don't ask."

Tori watched Edith walk out of the room, chomping on a celery stick. Jade was busy watching her brother out the window of the breakfast nook. 'Weird to think of Robbie as Jade's brother.' Tori thought. She suspected that Jade wanted, or needed, something from her brother.

After eating, Jade and Tori walked down to the pool to get things ready for their friends to arrive. Before any of that could happen, Jade needed to get one thing figured out. Jade addressed Robbie, who was back in his floating lounge.** "Did you know?" She asked.**

**"Your asking me if I knew you owned this house?" He asked back. "Not a clue."**

**"We didn need to be up in yo personal business." Rex added. "But can I use that? Tell my scrags I know Amanda Rothschild?" **

**"If you do, they will never find all the pieces." Jade assured the puppet.**

**"But you can tell our friends." Tori added. When Jade glared at her, she smiled and said "What? We trust them."**

**"Cat told the world I was Robbie's sister." Jade reminded her. "And I can't be sure how Beck will respond if we tell him."**

**"Well, we're telling Trina." Tori insisted. "And probably Mason. I'm not sure who else, maybe Andre. Just our friends."**

**"Why?" Robbie asked. ****His voice snapped through the air, almost startling the two girls.**

**Tori ****replied with**** "We trust them. They deserve to know Jade's been published."**

**"As a romance writer." Robbie pointed out. "****Think about it. ****Jade, scary Jade, writes romance. You know most people don't believe she likes romance, ****and ****yet she writes stuff that guys quote when they propose to their girlfriends. And you just want to tell everyone?"**

**"What do you suggest?" Tori asked. "Let them continue to believe that Amanda Rothschild, reclusive writer, ****exists**** and is hold up on her exotic estate somewhere?"**

**"****We're looking for our own private Robin's nest." Jade said as ****she ****headed ****to a recliner ****next to an**** umbrella. "So far, we haven't bought one. Maybe we need our own Higgins."**

**"Wha?' Tori asked.**

**"The point is, maybe we could trust Trina. She can keep secrets. But Jade doesn't want ****B****eck to know, and I certainly don't need people bugging me for a signed copy of one of her books." Robbie said.**

**"I... Wow, when did you get all insightful?" She was looking at Robbie with new eyes.**

**"Does it make me all sexy?" He asked, too hopefully.**

**"Down boy." Jade interrupted her half brother. "Tori's mine. You wanna fight for her? Scissors at ten paces." **

**T****o no one's surprise, Robbie backed down, and Tori took the time to watch Jade. 'It was amazing how normal her life seems, after everything she'd been through.' Tori thought. She also decided, if they did stay together, she'd help the goth feel as normal as her life seemed to be at times.**

Later, after Cat and Sam had arrived, the girls joined Robbie by the pool. Tori and Jade had both gone to inside and put on suits, and were ready to enjoy the Southern California sun. Cat called to her friend "Jadey, come swim with us." 

"No." Jade replied. She didn't bother correcting Cat about her name.

"Why not?" Tori asked. The Latina was soaked, and enjoying every minute of the watery fun. The pool was just a hair bigger then the one her parents had, but the patio around it was nicer, with more expensive furniture. Mostly it was easier for her to enjoy someone else's pool.

"Sam's looking to get even with me for not telling about this place." Jade said without looking up.

"That's not true." Cat protested.

"That's why you hid the buckets." Robbie said as he suddenly understood Jade's reasons.

"Come in the water and take your dunking like a man." Sam added.

"Jade, swim with me and later, I'll let you mark me." Tori invited.

"No.." Jade said again.

"Get. In. the. Pool." Tori repeated, making it an order. Jade just laughed. "Robbie, where's the buckets?"

"I don't think I want to be a part of this." The nerdy boy said.

"Don't worry." Sam cut her off. "I have this. As a mater of fact, my revenge should be walking in the door any second now."

It was more like five minutes later when Beck and Andre walked in. "Sorry we're late, but someone forgot to let the front gate guard know we were coming. Sinjin and Burf will be along shortly. They wanted a tour of the house." The Canadian announced.

"YOU TOLD SINJIN WHERE I LIVE!" Jade screamed, and proceed to get into the water. However, she wasn't able to drown anyone. The others kept their distance until the goth calmed down. And despite people she didn't particularly like being there, Jade managed to have fun hanging with her friends. She even got a chance to dunk Sinjin. Beck and Andre made her let the nerdy boy back up before his need for air got critical.

Also during the party, Tori managed to have a conversation with Beck, between keeping Jade from drowning any of the guests, and ogling her discreetly. But after everything that had happened, Tori needed to fix one more thing before she felt right about her sleeping with Jade.

"So, Beck, we all right?" She asked.

"We're good." He replied. Beck looked more relaxed around her then he'd been in a while. Even while filming their project, he'd maintained a professional air with her.

"Yea," Tori shifted, feeling uneasy.

"It doesn't just go away." Beck added. "You took advantage of me. Man, never thought I'd say that to anyone, let alone a friend. But the thing is, I can't hold it against you. You weren't thinking. So I forgave you, and I'm trying to make this friendship work." He held Tori with his gaze, and for one more moment, she remembered how selfish she'd been before accepting she was into Jade.

"I just want to get to the place where it's not weird anymore." Tori said.

"It's always going to be a little weird." The Canadian said. "But thats cause your with Jade now. I can accept I was a stepping stone, but to think my ex is with a girl I was with..."

"And now it's weird." Tori smiled, feeling more uncomfortable.

"But what I said is still true." Beck emphasized. "Take care of her. Even with her daddy's money, she's a lot more vulnerable then most people think."

"I'm beginning to see that." Tori said. "But now, things are getting better. And we have a new place to hang out. Assuming Jade doesn't kill us."

"Not sure I like the idea of Robbie playing host." Beck said. "And I know we can't avoid inviting Rex to pool parties here."

"But you can't avoid Trina at my place." Tori pointed out.

"Trina looks better in swimwear then Rex." Beck countered.

"Just enjoy the water." Tori said with a huff, then went to join her girlfriend in the jacuzzi. 'Man, what does it take to get someone else to host.'

That night, Tori and Trina invited Jade over for Sunday dinner. However, it was soon discovered that David and Holly Vega were once again going to be out of town. Tori was starting to feel sad so Jade called home and arranged for Tori and Trina to have Sunday dinner with her family. So Sunday night Tori once again found herself at the dinner table with Henry Shapiro. This time the whole meal was a bit more relaxed, and she had her sister there for backup. It seemed that the patriarch was willing to tone it down now that the families last secret had bee revealed. He still set the rules, and the conversation, but he didn't insist everyone participate.

"Miss Vega?" He said, "Trina? I was wondering, you're going to collage now, right?"

"Nope, I'm a senior at Hollywood Arts." Trina replied.

"So you've given some thought to where you're going to school? What you're going to study?" He asked. The table remained silent, allowing this conversation to commence.

"Probably theater." Trina said. "But I might study Psych as well. I'm starting to like the idea of knowing what motivates people. And there's a lot you can do with a psych degree. Police profiling, therapy, or maybe I can be the next Doctor Phil."

"See." Henry Shapiro said to the table. "Is it that hard to have a plan. Admittedly, she'll never be Doctor Phil. But she can work with that degree."

"Speaking of working with the degree." Trina cut in, and the table fell silent, the budding noised dropping off like the last moments when the lights go down at a play. "I've been wondering, how does this," she gestured around the table "work?"

"We managed to merge the two families fairly well. As for the part your thinking of, thats really none of your business." Henry said, dismissing her.

"I was actually asking about working for your daughter." Trina said, and they could feel the tension rise. Trina looked at her sister. "What? I got Robbie to tell me. Or rather, Rex."

"How?" Tori asked, not sure she wanted to know.

"I flashed the puppet." She said.

"Thats right she did." Rex chimed in. Robbie looked uncomfortable.

"But back to this whole living arrangement." Trina pressed. "From what I've heard, you're trying to be an old fashion, respectable businessman with the lover on the side. You're taking care of your kids, all that chiz. But you wound up working for your kid. Doesn't that shift the power dynamics?"

"Thats none of your business." Henry snapped, slamming his hand on the table.

"And there it is." Trina said. "I remember an acting teacher tried to get us to understand guys by getting in touch with our rage. Cause, to him, girls are supposed to eat theirs. But how does that explain guys like Beck, who are usually so chill? So I figured it's not just about getting angry, but it's about a pecking order." She looked at their host. "Do you agree?"

"I don't think this is appropriate discussion for the dinner table." He said. "Drop it before I throw you out."

"And there's another problem." Trina replied. "I'd be afraid of Jade, cause I know she can be viscous when she wants to. But you, your Robbie's dad. You just don't have the physical presence to intimidate me."

"I don't know." Tori said, trying to reel her sister back. "He's pretty intimidating from where I'm sitting."

"And it's about time you started dating someone tough enough to protect you." The older sister said, then turned back to the head of the table. "But the thing I'm trying to establish is the whole second family secret, that wasn't what you were hiding, was it. No, you needed to make sure no one found out that your teenage daughter was your boss. Maybe thats not what you told yourself, but it's the most likely scenario."

Henry Shapiro, the Family Patriarch, was holding himself back. He wasn't used his anger getting the better of him. He was always so cold and critical, not showing his true emotions. But this girl, she came into his home and challenged him. Not just pressing his buttons, but slamming them. It made him so mad. However, there was something else hidden in what she'd been saying. The same part of him that told him he was better then everyone around him made him listen, just so he could tell this bitch how wrong she was. That, and the fear that he couldn't throw her out. He could lose a LOT of face if he tried and failed.

Trina addressed the whole table. "Has he been more bossy since you guys moved in here?" Both the younger children nodded, while Robbie looked nervous. "Mister Shapiro, the thing I'm aiming for isn't to embarrass you. I want you to realize that you are a success." She stopped for a moment. "Tori, help us out here."

Henry hesitated. That part that was listening heard himself being called a success, and he wanted to know more. He NEEDED to know more. 'Go on' he thought, not trusting his voice.

"Jade said you more then doubled what she made." Tori chimed in. "She's worth a fortune thanks to you. She can do whatever she wants with her life. Thats a successful father."

"Or is the thought that I'm planning on helping the family whats worrying you?" Jade added. "I've been trying to get Dad here to buy some investment properties. I want some place for Robbie and the others when they're ready to move out and have their own lives."

"The point is, that had to be a shot to your ego." Trina continued.

"Did it ever occur to you that I wanted my daughter to have as normal a childhood as possible?" Henry growled back. No one was willing to risk his wrath. Even Rex had quieted down. But Henry was caught between the logic of the argument and his emotions. He'd been challenged. But he also secretly doubted he could take Trina. He secretly doubted he could take Jade. His primitive mind told him that his position as head of the family was threatened, and he might not bee able to enforce it, so he fell back on intimidation to control his brood.

Problem was, Trina wasn't Henry's child, and she had nothing to fear from him.

"I fully believe you want that." Trina replied. "But you still let her be shamed by the whole school, accused of being a whore, rather then tell either of your eldest children to go and let the people in on what was going on." She let that sink in for a second. "You didn't even try to come up with an excuse, help either of them through this difficult time."

"Didn't hurt that Robbie was looking more study from the rumors." Jade added.

"Look, Treen, Jade, I know what your trying to do. But this isn't the place. And certainly not in front of the mans family." Tori said. Then to Henry Shapiro. "I'm so sorry for all of this. I shouldn't have contributed."

"Yea, the last thing he needs is to show his son's that being taken down a peg isn't lethal." Trina added. "It's what you want, isn't it. For your son, the one carrying your name, to be seen as the kind of man you were?"

"I want my children to succeed." Henry said. Somehow, the rage was gone. Instead, he addressed Trina. "You gain nothing for challenging my authority, but you did anyways. Why?" His curiosity was getting the better of him. That, and she'd repeatedly called him a success.

"I was just going all doctor Phil on you." She joked. "But seriously, once I knew the dynamic, I realized that Tori benefits from you relaxing about Jade. You're set for life. You can be the big man, take care of both families. But you got lucky. Jade got lucky."

"Really?" Edith Shapiro asked. No one was sure if she was referring to the lucky comment, or the audacity to argue with Henry at the dinner table.

"Yea." Trina said. "They have each other."

Once again, Trina addressed the table. "Think about it. Lonely girl doesn't pay their authors squat. Maybe ten grand per book. Mister Shapiro here could have let Jade continue to write for them, and earn a small living. Great for a high school student, maybe. But the thing is, Jade got lucky when her father took control of her assets. And her career. Got her away from Lonely girl to where she could make some money, then turned that into a fortune."

"And your father, or husband to two of you, he got lucky that Jade was able to channel her hurt and pain into those books of hers. She understands characters, motivation, even drama. She wrote best sellers. And he was able to take risks with her money and make a lot more." Trina looked around. "So you both were lucky to have each other. Thats all I was saying."

"I see." Henry said, clearly impress even as his world struggled to reassemble itself. This was new to him, feeling okay about someone challenging him. "Psychology does seem like a descent fit for you. However, please never challenge me at the dinner table again. If you wish to talk, then make an appointment." Trina knew what he'd just said, and what a big step it was for him to accept her points might have merit. So she dropped it, and let them go back to business as usual.

For a short while, the end of Trina's impromptu therapy was the end of the dinner discussion. But Henry soon let them know it was okay for them to break down into smaller conversations, as long as no one disturbed any other conversation. A first for that family. Edith and Susan talked to each other, while Robbie spoke to Tori about something. Jade remained silent, watching her father talk to Trina, of all people, about how she'd learned so much. Apparently he respected her ability to say what was on her mind.

'Trina's a lot deeper then most people think.' The writer decided. "Trina, don't give up on that Doctor Phil dream yet. I think that may be your ticket to fame."

Trina laughed. "Maybe, but I'll be famous before I finish getting my degree."

:}

No prize for whomever can identify Robbin's Nest. Either you get it, or you don't. No worries. As for the rest, yes, Trina challenged Henry. But please, make sure you know what you're doing if you ever are in that kind of position. Men don't like having their authority challenged. Trina knew what she was doing, and got lucky that Henry was ready to hear what she had to say. Won't make him father of the year, but it does help build for the future.

So, thoughts, comments, please use that review button and let me know. There's still stuff to cover, and next time you will get to learn a bit more about the Vega family... Maybe.


	22. Chapter 22 A film by

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or it's characters. I do, however, enjoy the way they fit together sometimes.

:}

Monday was an unusually exciting day at Hollywood Arts, one that had the whole school talking. It was the day Sikowitz's class would display their projects. The films, both made up of a series of scenes from "The Lost Seconds", using different actors for each character in different scenes, were going to be shown. But more important then the project was the news that Amanda Rothschild was sending a couple of her people to view the finished pieces. It would be the first official American film adaptation of her work, even if it was just a student film using a mishmash of scenes and shifting actors from scene to scene. It was still big news.

And because Amanda Rothschild's people were going to be there, Helen decided to make something more of the projects. The school was going to have a short day, with the whole school watching the first film. Then, on Tuesday, they'd repeat the process, and watch the second project film. Sikowitz's class was going to use his class period to get things ready, and they were using the large flat screen they sometimes used in the asphalt cafe to show the entire school, as well as a few interested parties from the local area.

For the dozen of so student involved in the project, it was a particularly exciting time. After Helen's announcement during homeroom, the whole school was talking. Jade and Beck both found themselves jockeying for position. Beck wanted to go last, because he had the better actors. Jade wanted to go last, cause she believed in the performances of her actors. Last would leave the lasting impression, and be the version talked about all summer. Both wanted that, for themselves and their cast. The enormity of the work made this the same as any senior project. In the end, Beck won the coin toss, and Jade's film would be shown first. Her reaction was heard echoing down the halls, and would be edited in later conversations.

Jade knew she had a lot more to do then just prep the film. She had to prep her actors. So during study hall, Jade asked for and got permission to wonder the halls. One by one she had a quick talk with her cast, letting them know that their anonymity was about to go away. "After today, the whole school is going to know your names. Get ready, cause your moment to shine is coming." Jade meant every word of that.

Things got weirder when the first of the special guests showed up. An older man wearing a white suit, proving that most people don't look good in white suits, was waiting around for them when Sikowitz led his class out to set up.

"Sid?" Jade said, looking at the old man in the unflattering white suit. "Sid Horowitz, is that really you?" The goth raced forward to give the man a big hug.

"Jadekins, Should have known you'd be here." He said as he hugged the girl. "So, you in one of these films I'm supposed to be viewing?"

"I'm one of the directors." Jade answered. "Wait, you're miss Rothschild's representative?"

"You're father wasn't sure he'd be able to make it. Miss Rothschild doesn't have a lot of people in California, so I got tapped." The old man said. "So which one of these fine ladies is your little girlfriend?"

"He told you everything, didn't he?' Jade asked, not nearly as excited.

"Just the personal stuff." The old man said. "While we're at it, which one is your ex?"

"Beck's easy to see." Jade told him. "Guy with great hair. He directed tomorrow's film. Tori, my girlfriend, she's one of his actresses."

"So pointing was too hard?" Mr. Horowitz asked. "Come on Jade, I really want to meet these people. People who've had such a profound impact on your life, might I add."

"Can it wait? I've got to get back to work." Jade excused herself. "I'm setting up the projector, making sure everything is ready. I'm swamped. Why don't you go sit in the VIP section. It'll be a bit."

Tori had watched the whole encounter, wondering who this man was. Jade was fond of him, willing to break her normal no hugging rule, and that spoke volumes. Robbie also took a moment to talk to the older man, and they seemed to get along as well. So once she was done with her part of the preparations, Tori approached the man. 'Keep it together, Tori. He could be anyone...' She suspected he was one of two people. Either Robbie's maternal grandfather, or...

"Mister Horowitz was it?" Beck asked. "I'm Beck Oliver, Jade's ex. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Tori didn't want to crowd the man, so she started to back away. "And that is Tori Vega, Jade's current relationship." Beck's voice grew louder as he called out "Tori, this man used to be Jade's dad's boss. You know, before he worked for Miss Rothschild."

Tori looked at the old man, smiling her best smile. 'Beck, if I could think of a way to hurt you, you'd be running all ready.' Burying that thought, Tori walked up tot he man. "Tori Vega, pleased to meet you."

"Please, both of you, Call me Sid. We're practically family." Sid said. "I've been working in finance, helping Hollywood's elite find places to put their money, for over forty years. It's good to represent one of them in something that doesn't involve a police auction."

"So, you own a junk yard?" Tori asked, not sure what else to say. Her memory of that day when she and Jade beat up Festous's car wasn't one of her best, but it was still the most fun she'd had filming "The Woods." It was also one of the beginning moments when she started feeling more then a rivalry with Jade. She snapped back to the current conversation.

"It's an investment." Sid said, smiling. "Most people don't realize the potential of Junk. Junker cars, you buy one for a song, and then people pay you for the parts. Or you sell the scraps. Whats important is, I've found a way to make money. Not as much as when I used to get people to pay me to take recyclables from them, then got paid to ship those recyclables over seas where they would be used to make the next generation of junk, but still a decent amount."

"You got started in Junk?" Beck asked, not sure what to say. This man wasn't anything like either had expected.

"It used to be a safe investment." The old man said. "Still is. People, they need waste dealt with, and you can't just dump it in the oceans. So I, to this day, pay people to scrap their old vehicles, and sell the scrap for profit. But the real money came when I started selling what I'd learned about investing, taking advantage of every opportunity, to those with the money to invest."

Tori settled in for the long haul. Mister Horowitz was a talker, and continued to lecture both her and Beck until Mister Shapiro showed up to help represent his biggest client. Despite the closeness she felt towards the family, after last night,, she just wanted a little distance. Tori used that excuse to leave and find her girlfriend. Jade was, once again, a bundle of nerves, so Tori held her and silently prayer the Shapiro patriarch would like what he saw.

It was a semi-success. The film itself seemed to bounce around with no emotional center. Each actor had their own interpretation of what their character was feeling, and it made the selected scenes disjointed. Tori realized they'd have the same problem with her groups film. But the individual scenes, they were well done. The directing was spot on, the cinematography was near perfect, and the actors seemed invested in their characters. Despite the trouble following the emotional story, the overall effect made the actors look brilliant. It was as if the takes were selected to best represent the actors, not the director.

After, Jade addressed the school, introducing people Tori had never really gotten to know. Names unknown to her despite sitting in the same class for the whole year, or sometimes years. Each one took their turn standing up, stepping forward, and receiving the applause of the school. It was over too quickly, but the shruggers had been given their chance to shine, and they didn't disappoint.

"And that's why I needed Jade for this project." Sikowitz said, almost in Tori's ear. "Tomorrow, you guys are at a disadvantage. Everyone is going to be expecting you to be so much better then they were. And I'm sorry Beck, but your not quite the director that Jade is."

"Yea, but I had Andre editing the film together, and Jade's not as good at that as he is." Beck said. "I'll take my advantages where I can find them." Tori hid her smirk, knowing Beck was as invested in being the better product as Jade was.

'Besides, with a professional cast, he's every bit as good a director as she is.' Tori decided. 'Bet their working together within the next few years...' Tori smiled despite herself. But she had something else to do.

Tori wanted to congratulate Jade for the result of her work, but her girlfriend had gone to see what the Shapiro patriarch had thought. Tori watched as Henry Shapiro let Jade know exactly what he'd thought about the project. She could have done better. "The purpose of that project was to make the actors stand out, but the purpose of the film should have been to make the material stand out. I'm sorry Jade, but this kind of film doesn't represent the Rothschild name."

Jade was devastated. Tori intercepted her as she walked away from talking to her father, and held her all the way to her car. "You okay?" Tori asked.

"No." Jade replied. "I really thought he'd appreciate my work."

"He did." Tori said. "Just not the way you wanted him to. He saw how good you were, but you used this as a chance to give the actors that moment in the sun, when he wanted to see the film come first. Given the nature of the project, you could have done that. But if you weren't limited by the project, your work would have been breathtaking."

"I did the assignment." Jade said, still shaky.

"Lets get someone to take us home." Tori purred. "I think I need to cheer my girlfriend up."

"I'm not in the mood." Jade said flatly.

Trina had been nearby, listening to them talk. "Jade, can I have a word with you?" She asked, pulling the director aside. Tori followed as they found their way into the school and an empty classroom.

"Okay, you remember when I took your dad to task?" Trina asked. Jade nodded, while Tori cringed. "Not to be cruel, but it's your turn. Ready?"

Jade stared at the older Vega girl, not sure what to think about what was happening. Trina seemed to be waiting for some kind of go ahead, but Jade wasn't sure she was ready for this. After taking a gulp of air, desperate to breath, she nodded.

"I get it. I really do. You want your fathers approval." Trina started. "But sometimes I think you go to far. I meant it when I said you got lucky, but so did he. So for the sake of my sister, it's time you get it through your head, you don't have to keep winning his love."

Trina was walking around Jade, stalking her, looking for the opening that would allow the older girl to make clear the truth she was trying to push through Jade's defenses. "You'd do anything to prove to your daddy that your good enough, worthy of being his child. You kept his secrets, allowed yourself to be the schools punching bag, just to show him you were good enough to be loved. But how can he see what a wonderful person you are if you don't stand out. Just because you don't have the Shapiro name doesn't make you any less of a person. You don't have to keep his secrets, be his perfect little girl, for him to be able to love you."

Jade stared at Trina, totally lost in what she was hearing. "You don't understand..."

"Don't I?" Trina asked. "Of all the people you know, who could possibly understand you better? I love my sister, but I'm not blind to who's in the spotlight. I'll never be the daughter my parents want me to be. I'm not the singer Tori is, and she's friends with the popular people in her grade. I've been in her shadow since she got here. But I soldier on, take care of her, and push to be seen as the wonder I am. Sound familiar?"

Jade huffed. "You're not... I mean..."

Tori thought 'So Trina, what you're saying is your Scar to my Mufasa?' She hadn't thought of it that way, 'But that choice of words...'

"Hard not to see it now." Trina added. "Maybe your rebellion didn't get the right kind of attention, but it did get his attention. Then came the writing, and he was finally seeing you. Willing to spend time with you. But we've talked about the screwed up family dynamics. And you know what? Now, he knows how screwed up he was from trying to win his parents affection. So he was willing to talk to me about it. Now it's your turn. Jade, do you hear me? I need to know, do you understand what I've been trying to tell you?"

"This isn't a rebellion." Jade said. "This is me."

"And she missed it." Trina threw her hands up.

"No, she's getting it." Tori cut in. "Jade, you do get it, don't you. You're special..."

"Thats not the point." Trina cut her sister off. "He loves her, even if he only had the rebellious goth child to deal with. She never had to do anything else but try to make something of herself, and he'd love her. He just spent so much of his life trying to please his parents he forgot his children might need that focus." Then directly at Jade. "He loves you. He always has. Get that though your stubborn head, so you can be free to love my sister. Your daddy love you." Trina didn't realize she'd been shaking Jade until the goth shook her off.

Jade stared at Trina, wild eyed, trying to come up with an argument. "No he, I mean, he never..."

"My god Jade," Tori said, "Is it that important to you that your gonna argue against him loving you?"

Jade broke down and cried. "There's a difference between not knowing how to show your love, and not loving someone." Trina told them. "Jade, your father wants to show his love, but he just doesn't know how. Thats one of the reasons for the draconian rules he put in place. Now it's time to grow past them, to reach out to him."

"Why did he hate my film?" Jade asked, her leaking tears despite her intent.

"Because you made it fore the actors, not the writer." Tori replied. "If you'd focused your actors on consistency, it would have been a better film, and the writing would have a chance to shine."

"That wasn't the assignment." Jade said, like that was the whole of it. Tori was still holding her, since she suspected Jade needed to feel safe.

"Except as a director, your vision is also part of the finished product." Trina said. "Hay, I've watched 'At the Movies.' I understand the importance of the directors vision."

Jade chuckled. "You couldn't have learned that in school?"

"Jade, I think I'm ready now." Tori said.

"At least wait until you get home." Trina said. "And TMI."

"Lets get through the week first." Jade agreed. "I want to see what you guys did."

"You good to drive?" Tori asked. "Or should we get Trina here to drive us."

"Give me a few minutes." Jade said, her voice still weak. "But yea, I'm good. I can drive. Maybe, if you don't try any more stealth gropes, we can cuddle? For now. At your place, I mean... I..."

"Take me home." Tori whispered in her ear. "As soon as your ready, take me home."

The next day was much like the first, except the shruggers were walking around like stars. Every student seemed to now their names, and frequently stopped to talk to one of them. The shruggers soaked it in, enjoying it while it lasted. They all knew their fifteen minutes at Hollywood arts was burning fast. In only a few classes, no one would be talking about them.

Jade was also receiving high praise. While many students knew she could have made the film more consistent, insisting on them sharing a view of who the characters were, and cutting the film together to show off her skills as a director, the project would have been less jarring, but the actors wouldn't have stood out nearly as much. For her willingness to help them shine alone, Jade was getting praised.

Finally the time came for the second showing, and once again the representatives of Amanda Rothschild were in attendance. Beck walked out to speak to the audience before the showing, thanking everyone who'd worked so hard to make his version of the project happen. In particular, he thanked Cat, Trina and a few others for their help in getting the funding together for the costuming. He also thanked Amanda Rothschild for her support and letting them use her work. After that, he had them start the film.

It was night and day. The actors were not just good, but great. The didn't so much stand out as fit in. Tori and Beck in particular gave moving performances when their turns came, but the group as a whole had decided to try and keep the emotional center of the characters consistent. Add in that Andre was a better editor then Jade, able to take parts of takes and use them to enhance a given shot, and the whole film flowed from scene to scene almost smoothly. There were rough points, where a given actors portrayal lacked the depth of the previous one. But the overall effect was watchable, consistent, and good.

Sikowitz walked up to the stage. "Okay everyone, before I grade the two films, I want to compliment all of you for your work. This was a massive assignment, and you did me proud. Beck's work was more produced, but honestly didn't look that much better then Jades. However, Beck's film benefited from more of everything. With that, I'd like to remind my students that tomorrow we're starting 'Twelve Days in Rio', and I'll be assigning parts then. Get it leaned so we can get off book as quickly as possible."

He walked over to the side to retrieve his coconut. "Now, I'll just say it, from the perspective of an audience, Beck's team was better. I can't, however, say that Jade's team couldn't have turned in an award winning performance. The difference was a mix of skill and talent. Robbie, Beck, Andre, Tori and Cat all knew how to underplay their characters, while giving a good performance using another person's interpretation of the material. And that's where they failed."

The audience gasped. The quirky teacher let the moment linger, then spoke to his students. "Jade's work was often jarring. While many of the scenes were excellent, benefiting from the passion and honesty of the actors, the whole thing just didn't flow together. Each student had been left to find the emotional canter of their character, and there was no consistency. And that was the point of the exercise. Beck's group, for the most part, are good enough actors to cover someone else's interpretation, and lets be honest, they did good with the material. Underplayed and supportive is the way to go. You'll know when the material calls for an over the top performance. Jade is to be commended for bringing that kind of controlled passion out of her team, and for managing to do so while still bringing back the same number as she took out. I haven't confirmed if their the same students yet. But the point is, Beck's was the team that a professional panel of judges would have picked."

Sikowitz let the applause die down a bit. When the sound wasn't dimming, he held his hands out, quieting the audience. "We have a lot to get through, and so little time. Please, save your applause for the end." The clapping died down, and Sikowits took a moment to enjoy the silence. "Now, what hasn't been clearly said is that Jade could have delivered a consistent, emotional, even stirring film if she wasn't constrained by having to shift who played what character. For the assignment I'd given, Jade's was the superior product. And I'm saying it's partly because the actors Beck had were so good. They were able to choose to stay with one emotional center. Jade had to let her people choose their own. With the right directors, every one of my students can deliver a great performance. Now, Beck is the winner for best film, but Jade gets the win for the project, for best individual performances, and for best director. Lets hear it for Beck and Jade."

The gathered students and faculty, as well as a flew locals who had taken the time to watch, all applauded wildly for the two young directors and their projects. Jade and Beck both motioned for their groups to join them on stage. The twelve students then enjoyed the well deserved adulation.

:}

Okay, that was the showing of the projects. Only a short while to go before things wind down. But anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, review. Let me know what you thought of it.


	23. Chapter 23 Vega Family Values

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

:}

By the time Jade and Tori reached the Vega residence, Jade was still floating. "They liked it." She'd said, over and over again. "The audience liked it." Tori knew the translation. Sikowitz liked it. And she'd won.

"Your father seemed to think Beck's film was much better." Tori commented. "But you were right, the assignment was to show how a story is different when different people shape the characters. If we really wanted to do justice to the project, we should have had both you and Beck film the same short story, with the same actors, and show off how different the work wound up."

**"****Maybe, but I'm jut happy to be done." Jade said, flopping onto the couch. "I talked to my dad."**

**"Really?" Tori asked. "What about?"**

**"A break." Jade said, smirking. "I've talked to him about letting me go somewhere in a few weeks, over ****summer**** break. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come too."**

**"And where would we be going?" Tori asked.**

**"I was thinking someplace warm and painfully commercial. Maybe Hawaii?" Jade said, sliding closer to Tori. "Get a little bungalow, spend some alone time with you."**

**"We'd need a chaperone." Tori said. "Mom wouldn't trust me alone with my incredibly sexy girlfriend." Tori slid closer to Jade. **

**"We can take someone." Jade replied. "But the big thing is, I'm taking a vacation from being Amanda Rothschild, just for one week. And I want you there to help me relax and enjoy it."**

**"Would you like to relax and enjoy something now?" Tori purred. The Latina's eyes were darkening with desire. Jade shifted back, but only to get a better look.**

**"Why Miss Tori, whatever do you have in mind?" Jade asked in her forties movie star voice.**

**"I don't know" Tori growled. "Maybe we go to my room, and see what happens"**

**"But we know what will happen." ****J****ade replied with mock innocence. "****If we go there right now, like this, you'll screw my brains out."**

**"****Wouldn't ****w****ant that to happen." Tori replied, just as innocently. "But maybe we could control ourselves?"**

**"Or maybe we want it to be a bit more romantic." Jade said, sounding less innocent, and more sincere. "As opposed to convenient."**

**"****You'd rather wait?" Tori asked.**

**"Separate the memories." Jade said. "Not confuse the emotions. Why don't you and I do something, say Friday?"**

**"What did you have in mind?" Tori asked.**

**"Not sure." Jade replied. "Just something date like. Let me see what can be arranged." The two got down to some heavy making out, but stayed on the couch. It was the only thing keeping their hands in appropriate places.**

**Saturday arrived, and it was a day of**** nervous anticipation. Tori was waiting for Jade to arrive for their date. 'Last night was so...' she lost herself in the memory. Jade had treated Tori to a late spa day at the complex. They'd enjoyed massages, a variety of spa treatments, and then went back to Jade's room to enjoy a movie. Tori had used that excuse to end their waiting, waking up that morning in her girlfriends arms. 'I just wish Miss West and Mrs Shapiro weren't so happy to see me at breakfast. And Robbie's gonna tell everyone...' Sighing, Tori looked in the mirror one more time. **

**"So, what kind of date says 'thanks for letting me nail you?'" Trina asked, smirking. The older Vega girl was sitting in the living room, with her autographed advanced copy of Jade's next book. Jade had dropped it off yesterday when she came to pick up Tori.**

**"****D****on't know." Tori said. "Jade's the one planning this date." She returned her sisters smirk. "Maybe when it's my turn, I'll show her how much I appreciate being with her. I'll... I'll... Jam it, I don't know!" Tori said, frustrated at her lack of ideas.**

**"And that's why we agreed Jade would be the man in this relationship." Trina said. "So, are you going someplace casual?"**

**Tori had dressed in a nice top and skinny jeans. But the jewelry and makeup was chosen to make up for the casual dress. "She said to dress comfortably." Tori ****informed her sister****.**

**"Are you sure she didn't mean in something easy to get off?" Trina asked, ****smiling****. "Speaking of, have you figured out her body yet? I read that knowing her personal sensitive places can make things go so much smoother."**

**"****A**** good girl doesn't tell." Tori humphed.**

**"Thats why I'm asking you?" Trina said, smirking again. "I can get you some generic female sketches, Have Jade draw things out for you. Or, if you've made up with Beck, he could save you a lot of trouble."**

**"I've been with Beck." Tori said. "I'm not sure he knows." ****She felt ****Jade had made things so easy for the boy.**

**"Wait, you've been with ****B****eck?!" Her fathers voice ****boomed**** out from the office.**

**"Dad's home?" Both sisters said, their surprise mirroring the other. **

**"And mom." Holly said from where she'd been sitting in the kitchen, ****reading her own advanced copy of Amanda's latest****. In her daughters****'**** defense, Trina's face had been buried in the book, and Tori's attention hadn't really left the front door since she got down stairs. "So, maybe there's something you've been wanting to tell us?"**

**"You're both home?" Tori said.**

**"On a Saturday night?" Trina added. They were both trying to wrap their heads around this fact.**

**"Jade asked us." David said as he appeared from the hallway. "Said there were things she needed to discuss. She's bringing her parents. Thats a circus I'm interested in seeing." ****That was when the doorbell rang. "Looks like their here, right on time." **

**Tori wanted to sink down into the couch. Realizing she was standing, she sat down and imagined the couch coming to life and devoting her. Anything to save her from the discussion that was about to happen. ****'This is not how I wanted everyone to meet. And my parents know...' Tori's face grew flush as she tried to will away the embarrassment. Her couch monster wasn't doing a good job of hiding her. Tori tried method acting, imagining she was a quarter, or the remote.**

**Trina, for her part, was watching the door with a dark sense of anticipation. 'I mentioned last night, so dad, and mom, ****probably ****heard. This could be ugly.'**

**The door opened, revealing the entire Shapiro-West clan, or most of them. The youngest two were conspicuously absent. "Mister Shapiro, nice to meet you. I just found out that your daughter and mine ****recently got serious in their dating****." David glanced back at Tori. "Or I hope their ****still ****dating."**

**"I see, you do need to be caught up." Henry Shapiro said. "I'd like you to meet my wife, Edith, and this is Jade's mother Susan. Of course, you know Jade and Robbie. Mark and Stephanie are spending tonight at friends houses. You can meet then another time. Today is about meeting Tori's parents, and returning a favor." **

**Trina sat up, her ears burning form Mister Shapiro's statement. Realization of what he'd intended quickly followed, and then ****Trina wanted to join her sister in being monster couch food. She'd had multiple conversations with mister Shapiro, ****helping him work through some of his issues with his parents****, to the point where he'd stepped up to a professional therapist. ****Even then she'd been there to help him, and his family, adjust to the new dynamics that came with him trying to heal. ****But she knew his sense of gratitude was going to be tinged with a taste of revenge. ****'I**** did make him look a bit foolish that one day at dinner.****' She recalled. 'Lets hope he's not here to do anything, I mean, what kind of damage could he do?'**

**"Please come in. The father of my daughters girlfriend and his bigamous family are welcome in my home." David said, ****smiling his best smile****. Both his daughters flinched.**

**The Shapiro-West clan filed in, taking seats on the couch and in the kitchen. Jade sat next to ****T****ori, while Robbie was ejected from his attempt to sit next to Trina. "So, quick introductions, You're David, and thats your wife, Holly. Am I right?" David nodded.**

**"****Right on the first try." David joked.**

**"****So glad you could make it." Trina said, trying to cut off what she suspected was about to happen. "Lets keep thing friendly, since it's the first meeting of both families."**

**"But Trina, I owe you so much." Henry Shapiro said. "And I always pay my debts. It's important for the children to learn that kind of dedication."**

**"I think Jade already knows." Trina said, but she could feel that things were moving out of her control.**

**Henry then ****addressed**** David again ****"Will we need your partner Gary, or is he just your partner? No offense, but I need everyone involved in this family drama here so we can clear the air."**

Both Vega sisters held their breath as what could be a family secret, if only the sisters knew, was being threatened with exposure. Their father, **David, didn't answer, instead looking over to where his wife was sitting. For several moments, the room was uncomfortably tense. Finally, after what was probably too long, she ****broke, saying**** "Gary's my cousin."**

**The room let out it's collective held breath in a gasp. David looked particularly shocked. He opened his mouth to ask, demand some kind of answer, only to be beaten to the punch.**

**"But you made it seem like you and he were dating." Tori said, outraged. "That is, unless your kissing cousins."**

"Tori!" David tried to silence his child. But all he had was shocked words, words he'd much rather have aimed at his wife.

**"Gary's like a brother to me." Holly said, ****showing defiance with a tinge of outrage. But the rage died as she found her voice, explaining**** "Or he was, back when I was little. We'd lost touch when I was in collage, reduced to holiday card and the occasional phone call. ****You couldn't have imagined how happy I was when we met again, at your fathers precinct. ****Then he was your dad's partner, and it was like old times again. We've been in contact, ****trading jokes and supporting each other ****and I enjoyed every minute of it. It also pushed your father into doing something about our dying marriage."**

**"But, but, You, you said he was good looking..." Tori stammered. ****Trina was silent, something that should have worried Tori. But she was too caught up in her own confusion to notice her sisters hands clinch into fists, or the way they shook.**

**"He was, is." Holly said. "But we were never romantic, just family, looking out for each other. I've been pushing for him to get past his divorce and move on. He's helped me, by advising David to bring back the romance."**

**"BY IGNORING US?!" Trina roared. "Did it ever occur to you that we needed you? ****Do you have any idea what we've been through the last year? Tori slept with ****B****eck, just to get at Jade, who she didn't know at the time was the one she wanted to be sleeping with... And, and I've been so busy trying to figure this chiz out, ****that I... H****as anyone but Henry realized that I haven't had a date in four months? Four months. Why am I relying on Jade' father, with all the baggage he's got, to help me see that I've been aiming at the wrong type of boys?" Trina ****whole body ****was shaking now, consumed by her emotions. Tears flowed don her face. **

**"But you go to parties all the time?" Tori asked, ****even more confused****. "You hang with friends, get drunk..." Her voice faded.**

**"And you thought this was going to be hard." Edith said to Susan. ****The other woman nodded, but kept her attention on the drama unfolding in front of her. **

**"Bet this beats your soap opera's." Susan whispered to her sister-wife.**

**"Are you sure you don't want to give Rob here a chance?" Henry asked Trina. **

**Jade had taken Tori's hand from the moment she'd sat down. Still holding her girlfriends hand, she addressed Trina. "Partying doesn't equal quality people, does it?"**

**"I see the dark side of the guys." Trina said.. Susan had moved to sit next to Trina, displacing Robbie, and was now holding the still weeping girl. "Trust me, if I were even remotely gay, ****I'd**** have hooked up with a girl a long time ago. But unfortunately, after experimenting in the bathroom at a party last year, I'm now sure I'm ****anything but**** gay."**

"Mister Vega," Henry Shapiro said, "May I call you David? The point is, Trina here helped me see the mess my lifestyle was causing. My therapist says I was at the point where I wanted out anyways, so I was ready to hear. I just wonder, are you? Look at the carnage your children have gone through, all so you can Holly there can rekindle the spark in your romance. I could understand her not realizing it, but you're a cop, a detective. You know kids need their parents well into their first child."

"I work, worked, major crimes." David said. "We don't deal with that aspect of human relationships that often. But I see your point. Me and Holly, we were so proud that our children didn't need us, that we ignored when they did." He looked at Tori and Trina. "I can see it now, how they've had to adjust. I'm sorry. I'll try to be there for you, in the future."

Jade, for her part, was on the verge of tears. It was the first time she could remember when there was a chance for happy tears. Her father was offering an open, honest hand to the Vega's, trying to return the favor Trina had given him. Jade didn't know how to react. Her father was closed off, distant. Not this man. The Henry Shapiro who was talking to the Vega parents was warm, friendly, giving. Absolutely nothing like the man she'd known all her life. 'Daddy's home...' She thought. It hurt, that she'd missed so many years. But she knew, from her talks with her own therapist, that it was better to focus on the present, the chance to have a better relationship with her father now, and into the future.

They broke into smaller groups after that. Robbie spent his time roving, talking with each group as he was needed. He would spend most of his time with Tori and Jade, since he wasn't the best equipped to deal with the raw emotions pooing out. Instead, he did what he did best, providing comic relief when things got too heavy. Everyone, for once, appreciated his ability to lighten the mood. Later, Jade would tell him he did it all without Rex.

Tori and Jade stayed with each other, holding on to their girlfriend. It was an emotional time. Even after the initial discussion, Tori was watching her family own it's problems. The whole things was deeply emotional. Personal. "Jade, did you know they were going to do this?" She managed to ask.

"My dad was talking to his therapist, some peer counselors, AA, whomever could get him ready for this. But did I know? Nope, not until tonight." Jade told her, holding on so they could both be strong. "I had other things on my mind. Like what my girlfriend could do with her tongue..."

"Pervert." Tori said, smiling.

David and Henry spent a great deal of time talking, exchanging numbers of people who could help. The two men both connected over their individual mistakes as parents. Henry also chose that moment to own what had happened to his daughter over ten years ago. He told David, explaining that "I couldn't admit that I'd placed my daughter in danger without admitting she was my child. I allowed the family secret to paralyze me, so I convinced myself it never happened. Now, I can see how that, plus my distance, hurt her. Children need their parents. She just needed me to love her, and I had no idea how to do that. I still don't. It takes time to undo the damage of a lifetime. But I'm lucky, I have the chance to have a relationship with my children. That, plus both Edith and Susan have worked out a system that they feel is fair to them. So I get to keep two wives."

"Don't celibate yet." David replied. "It looks to me like they've formed a power block, and probably are taking control of the house even as we speak."

"They took over weeks ago." Mister Shapiro admitted. "I just didn't notice until much later." They continue to talk, letting the conversation drift in and out of the issues at hand. They both agreed that Trina had become so good at dealing with other peoples problems partly to avoid dealing with her own. It was time for that to change as well.

Trina spent a lot of time with Susan, talking and allowing herself to be mothered. Holly spoke with Edith for a bit, then both joined Susan and Trina, and as a group worked out just how deeply Trina was hurting. The girl had thrown herself into understanding others as a means to feeling good, like she had any value. The mothers worked to break though that feeling of being under appreciated. Robbie was incredibly useful here, explaining how Trina could well have her pick of the boys, if she just could generate real confidence rather then the facade she usually maintained. "When you relax, and show your caring side, that gets guys." he said. "Show that you appreciate them, for who they are and not how they look, and you'd have your pick. Maybe not the ultra hotties, but those guys are used to girls throwing themselves at them anyways. Just look at Jade, and how she won Beck. Jade was always worried that some other girl was going to do to her what she did to the one before her. With Tori, she can relax and know they love one another, no strings. Now, who wants to see a card trick?" Six seconds later, the deck of marked cards had scattered across the floor as his attempt at a flashy presentation of the cards failed. They needed the laughter, and he seemed more in control of his mistakes, using them to keep everyone from getting too caught up in the darker aspects of the topis they were discussing.

By the time the Shapiro West clan headed home, they were more like a family then when they started. Both families were now on the road to healing. David, however, took the moment to talk to his girls. "Tori, Trina, Holly and I are going to be more involved in your lives. Tori, Holly and I, and possibly Gary, are going to make sure one of us is with you every step of the way of your recording. We'll protect you from the users. And Trina, I'm thinking we might take some time, look at your collage choices. But someplace close, so we can have our second chance at being there for you. Right now, we just want to show both of you how special you are to us. So, I was thinking, maybe a family vacation. We can start in a couple of weeks, taking a weekend just for us. Okay?"

It was a start.

:}

A lot happened here, and again it could have gone multiple ways. But Henry Shapiro paid back his debt, and was able to show just how messed up Trina had become. The girl was avoiding her own problems, something a fair number of people in Psychology might do. It's why their taught to deal with their problems. But the thing is, this was the shock they needed to bring the family back together.

Bad news, only one chapter left. But for now, I welcome any comments, reviews, praises, reviews, r just reviews.


	24. Chapter 24 End of an era

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or it's characters. I just borrow them for a while.

Disclaimer 2: This is the last chapter. Sorry.

:}

After that Saturday, the one where Tori's family started to come back together, things worked out just a bit better for all of them. David took the family on a couple of their weekend getaways, trying to bond again, rediscover themselves as a family. They had fun, visited a water park, and in general allowed themselves to enjoy being with each other. While the Vega family didn't bond to the point of old sitcom families, they did get back to the place where Tori or Trina could go to their parents for advice or help. And they got to the point where Tori agreed to keep them updated as to where she was going, at least until eighteen. The biggest change was they now made it a point to tell each other that they loved one another regularly. It helped. A lot.

David had previously shifted to Public Relations, so he could spend more time with Holly. Gary followed him into the less glamorous but much safer position. They still had badges and guns, but mostly worked behind desks. They were still tangentially attached to Major Crimes, however, so they'd occasionally work a case. But now that David knew Gary's relation to Holly, his partner became a more frequent guest at the Vega home. David even introduced Gary to some of Holly's friends. The attempted setups weren't as welcome as they could be, but it was more normal then most of what the Vega family had been used to. And it gave them another member of the family to talk to when tings went wrong. Gary was now part of the family, in all it's healthy dysfunction.

Jade's family was a bit more screwed up, despite the progress that her father and mother had made. Her Shapiro grandparents accepted her existence, but never truly embraced her. It was as if this kind of open secret happened all the time among different affluent communities, with rules about who was family and who was just the product of an indiscretion. Jade and Mark were left as outsiders among that community. But neither were Jewish either. Susan had deliberately raised them spiritual without specific beliefs. Jade had drifter towards the Universal Unitarians, while Mark would have his time with various groups finding his way. Religion was left as a topic for philosophical discussions, and Jade was able to talk to Edith or her father about their families. It made holidays less awkward.

Jade's home life, however, got a lot better. As her father stopped trying to win his parents approval, he discovered what it meant to be a father. Edith discovered a reason to stay in the family, now that Susan had gone from the other woman to her ally in keeping the house under control. Jade suspected they'd tried a few things in the bedroom, but not only were her parents not willing to talk about it, she would have paid not to have to hear. But they were working as a unit now, and kept their disagreements and fights to themselves. Jade wondered what kind of family therapy was helping that "couple" work through their problems. Again, she really didn't want to know.

Even Robbie was doing better. He and Cat still danced that dance of will they won't they, but now they had Jade stuck in the middle. Tori found it hard to keep her girlfriend calm when those two were fighting. It got even harder when they were in heavy flirt mode, since Cat didn't want to ruin their friendship. Trina had been brought in to try and work things out, but only said "They're not ready yet."

"Not to sound too much like Cat," Jade said, "But what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that Cat is aware of how pretty she is, and how much she wants to be with Robbie. But she never had a good example of Ex's remaining friends." Trina explained. "Even when You and Beck were on that first long break, Cat wasn't sure how to be both an ex and a friend. She didn't, and doesn't, want to risk her friendship when things go south. Now more then ever, since you're Robbie's sister."

"Thats pessimistic, even for me." Jade replied. "How does she know things won't work out?"

"She doesn't." Trina said. "She's so afraid of wanting it too much, that if she did try, with his history, she's afraid of being the one who wanted it more. That conflicts with her feelings that she's hotter then he is, so she should have a pretty boy."

"Thats so screwed up." Jade admitted.

"And that's why their not ready." Trina concluded. "When they are, they will have a chance, maybe. But Robbie needs to show he's into her more then just how he was into me, back when we shared that stage kiss. The same one he only let go of because Cat gave him a stage kiss. He really needed one from Andre."

"Why not Beck?" Jade asked.

"Cause Beck hits that small part of him that wouldn't mind being with a guy." Trina replied. "I got that from a few things they did on together the slap."

"So, how do we get Andre to kiss Robbie?" Jade asked, this time including Tori in the discussion. The Latina had just been there, listening in.

"What?" Tori asked, now curious about what Jade and Trina had been discussing. She usually gave them space when they talked about personal stuff. Trina was getting better at being there for people, and Jade really appreciated it, giving them the basis for a friendship of sorts. "Dre kissing Robbie? Why?" Then she thought about it a second more. "On second thought, I don't want to know. Jade, I love you, but I'm not getting dragged into a scheme to embarrass my best friend."

"But it's to help Robbie." Jade said. "And Cat."

"Still don't want to know." Tori said as she sent her friend a warning text.

Andre (From Tori) – Beware of Jade, she has evil on her mind.

Tori (From Andre) – When doesn't she?

Andre (From Tori) – This one involves you helping Cat by kissing Robbie.

Tori (From Andre) – Please, for the sake of my lips, distract your girlfriend.

Tori smiled, and promised to do whatever she could. She doubted Jade was going to force her brother to kiss Andre anyways. Still, she'd warned the musician, just to be safe. Jade was known for her plots, after all.

It was a couple of weeks later Trina came running in to the house, practically giddy. "You'll never guess what happened?" The older girl asked.

Tori just shrugged. "Lets see, you went to UCLA with dad to check out the campus. I'm guessing you liked it, or dad ran into someone he knew. Am I close?"

"I met a guy." Trina said, her smile almost blinding.

"Okay, that was my second guess." Tori said. "Wait, with dad right there?"

"Well, not exactly." Trina admitted. "Dad was talking to a friend at the school. A retired cop who did campus security now. And while I was waiting in a coffee shop, which Jade would love, mind you. They have live music, and designer coffees. I think maybe we should go sometimes, and check it out. Plus, they're totally open about alternative lifestyles. The barista was wearing those vampire fangs. That kinda freaked me out, but no one else seemed to care, so I guess it's all right. I wonder where you get those? I mean, as long as she took them out before you two made out..."

"And what does any of that have to do with meeting a guy?" Tori asked, not liking the direction this was heading.

"I was getting there." Trina huffed. "Anyways, he walked up and asked me if I needed someone to show me around. Of course, thats when dad showed up, and the poor boy froze. I'll admit, if he wasn't cute, I'd have let him run, but I figured we could use someone who knew the campus to show us around."

"And dad didn't scare him off?" Tori asked.

"Not yet, but we haven't dealt with Jade yet." Trina said. "Anyways, his name is Andre,..."

"Andrew." Their father said. He'd walked into the house in the middle of Trina's explanation. "His name is Andrew. Please, for the love of Pete, stop calling him Andre."

"Whatever." Trina said, waving her father off. "Anyways, turns out Andre is from out of state, and he needs someone to show him around as much as I needed someone to show me the campus."

"Andrew is a year older that Trina, and from Idaho, but his parents came here from Mexico. He's one of those kids you hear about when the politicians are worried about anchor babies, but I think his parents were legal." David filled his youngest in, enjoying being a part of his daughters lives "What? I listen." he said in response to his youngest's confused look.

"Not important, dad." Trina said. "Andre is fascinated by his Mexican heritage, and wanted my help in exploring LA. I said yes, but only as an excuse to date. And he's cute."

"Andrew has some good manors, asked me if it was okay to date my daughter and everything." David added. "It's nice to have one of my children dating someone I can intimidate."

"Jade's not that bad." Tori leaped to her girlfriends defense. "Is she?"

"Nahh, she's a paper tiger." Trina said. "That can give lethal paper cuts. But it's okay, you've managed to get close. You know her heart. And that she really can't afford to be a gank any more. When you have money, you get sued for doing the kind of chiz she used to do."

"Assuming you get caught." Tori corrected. "So tell me more about your boy." Then Tori stopped herself. "Wait, you won't know." She tuned to face their father. "So, tell me more about Trina's boy."

"Funny." Trina said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, he does have the cutest brown eyes." The Vega patriarch did his best impersonation of his eldest as both his children settled in for what could well be an embarrassing ride.

It would be about a week before Trina worked through her impulse to call the boy Andre, something Tori did the first time they met as well. But the boy persevered. He'd come to California to study more then the local Mexican heritage. He wanted to know everything about the LA culture. By the time he'd tried to pick Trina up, he was drowning. To make things more uncomfortable, he wasn't into the party scene the way Tori and Trina had been, preferring a more straight edge life style. As a result, Trina didn't drink as much as she used to at parties, and found out what parts of the scene she liked, and what parts were made to look more fun through beer goggles. They also discovered, together, a world of things they could do together that didn't involve drinking.

But Trina helped Andrew work through the parts of the LA culture, and the whole California attitude that most Californians don't have, so he could decide that he liked the city. Strangely, the biggest area of contention between the two was what Andrew called Spanish. Both Trina and Tori spoke a version of Puert Recan Spanish, with heavy LA influences, while he spoke more of a Mexican Spanish, influenced both by the region his parents came from and what the locals in Boise had adapted as part of their slang. It would be something the two would have to agree to disagree about, while Jade, who spoke American tourist Spanish, would never understand why they were arguing.

"I mean, it's all Spanish, right?" Jade asked. "It's not like there's a different English running about, just different slang."

"I refer you to the play My Fair lady." Tori said, smirking. "Americans are weird. We actually care less about the enunciation of our language then almost anyone else on earth. The British can be absolute snobs about how English is spoken."

"I thought that was just the French?" Jade said. "Wait, my dad said the French of the countryside are fairly chill about their language, as long as you try, so maybe you're right?" Jade was confused, but let the whole thing slide. "Not my fight."

The first time Trina introduced Andrew to Jade, two things happened. First, the goth addressed the poor boy as Andre. But unlike the Vega sisters, who'd gotten so used to Andre as a name they had to reprogram themselves, Jade was just pushing the poor boys buttons. The second was the way he managed to impress everyone with his highly developed sense of self preservation.

It was Tori's first chance to get a good look at the boy. He was tall, like their father, standing in at over six feet. That caused him to tower over Trina, but they still looked adorable together. He had a thinner build, more of a swimmers body. His hair was dark brown, while his eyes were a lighter brown. His skin was lighter, making him pass for white. Overall, he was the kind of guy Trina always wanted, Hot. He was also sweet, and terrified of the strong women who surrounded him.

"No offense, but somehow you come across as the kind who'd do something drastic, but only if you absolutely felt you had too." Andrew addressed Jade. "But despite that, you have the vibe of a psycho killer."

"And she works very hard to have that feeling." Trina added.

"Damn straight." The goth smirked. "I'm harmless. That is, as long as you don't do anything to hurt my girlfriend. You know, the sister to the girl you're dating." Jade growled the last part, and was rewarded with the boy sliding just a bit back and away from her.

"JADE!" Tori scolded her. "Behave, or I'm inviting your whole family to the movies."

"Thats a threat?" Trina asked.

"Imagine going to the movies with two moms." Tori said, smiling. "And her dad, as much as he's trying to make things better, he still won't see horror films. You know, I believe he'd be interested in a romance movie, given who he manages. Maybe a rom com."

"You wouldn't." Jade glared at her lover.

"But I learned form my girlfriend, the girl I love, that you can't make empty threats." Tori said, feeling confident. "You have to be ready to carry them out. Like how you know multiple places within fifteen miles where you could bury a body and they'd never find it."

"Please say she's kidding." Andrew begged his girlfriend.

Trina gave her best reassuring smile. "I'm sure, by now, she's shown dad most of them. But she might have kept one or two for herself, just in case she needed one in the future. She's hyper jealous and protective of what she considers hers."

"Not helping." Andrew said. But he had to smile at how Tori and Jade bickered. No malice, just playful. He relaxed, confident that Trina would protect him. "How did things get so turned around'?" He whispered to himself. All the girls decided to pretend they hadn't heard, and let him be.

A few weeks later, and Tori was sitting with her parents, and Jade, as well as members of her extended family including Gary. 'Or uncle Gary now.' Tori thought, marveling at how everything had changed so much in just a few months. But it was bitter sweet. Glancing around at her family, even Jade, as they sat in the Blackbox theater, waiting for the seniors to take their last walk across the stage, reminded her that everything was still changing. In a few minutes, Trina would graduate. Then it was off to UCLA where she planned to duel major in Psychology and Theater, while also studying Andrew. A tear slid down her face. 'Boy had better be worth it.' She once again thought.

"No crying." Jade whispered in her ear. Tori had to admit, the goths breath still sent shivers down her spine.

"But it's the end of an era." Tori whispered back. "Next year, we won't have Trina sitting with us, following us on our various random adventures. God I miss her already..." The hanky once again rose to meet her face.

"She's going to UCLA." David said. "I had to pressure her just to get her to move out of the house. She'll be by regularly, to do her laundry and visit. Mostly to do laundry. Plus she still works for the Spanish Language channel."

"I thought her show got canceled." Holley asked.

"Well, there were only so many ways kids in mouse costumes could accost a lady in a cheese boob costume." Jade whispered. "But hey put her in another show. Just as much respect and exposure."

"Please, thats my sister." Tori snapped, never raising her voice above a whisper.

"Tori, it's gonna be okay." Jade told her. "Once she gets more experience as a psycho, I'll talk to my dad about getting her a place on one of the Spanish language talk shows as the resident shrink."

"Psycho?" Tori asked. Her parents strangely quiet.

"Isn't that what they call people who study psychology?" The goth asked, looking, surprisingly, almost believably innocent.

"Only behind their backs." David muttered.

"Hay!" Holly almost yelled. The whole auditorium looked at her, and she sank back down a bit. "I'm a profiler. Is that what they call me?"

"Never to your face." Jade said, and managed to get a descent glare from both Vega women.

"Can we keep it together?" David asked. "Trina' graduating today." There was a commotion at the entrance.

"Did I miss it?" Andrew asked the room as he rushed into the theater. Tori tried not to be too embarrassed as her father waved his phone to get the mans attention.

"At least modern technology's made filming the proceedings less obvious." Holly muttered.

"Or you could just use the schools feed." Jade spoke up, again. "This is a performing arts school. We have camera men filming the whole thing. Sikowitz is directing. They rehearsed and everything. You can use your phones, or rely on professional grade recordings, cut to your specification. Really." Tori glanced up at the catwalks, where Andre and Beck were working with the crew. Robbie had taken command of the boards, since Sinjin wouldn't be available for this production.

The group quieted down as the ceremony commenced. First were the traditional boring speeches, spiced up by turning them into a couple of dramatic readings and a musical number. Then came the commencement address. Principal Eikner had come back from his Polynesian lifestyle to give the commencement speech. Then the valedictorian, Sinjin, gave his speech. It was mercifully quick. Weird, but quick. Then they started walking down the aisle. Tori gripped Jade's hand, watching as each student walked in their cap and gown. As with everything else about this school, they were encouraged to personalize their gowns. A rainbow of colors and strange designs, many with things hanging off them, walked past the stage as all one hundred and fifty seniors took their turn in the spotlight at Hollywood Arts for the final time.

"Do you regret the graduation present you're giving her?" Tori asked Jade.

"It was my fathers idea." Jade said. "I still wanted it to be just the two of us in that little bungalow in Hawaii. But he found a mansion we could rent, with enough bedrooms for all three families. It just made sense."

Tori smiled. "At least we'll be sharing a room." Tori whispered in Jade's ear. The families had given up on trying to keep them from sleeping together, seemingly from before they ever did, and were thankful that neither could get pregnant.

The final address was being given, then the graduates threw their caps. Several found their way to interesting places as the various special effects the graduates had planned went off. "They no longer allow any kind of sparklers in the hats." Tori told her parents. "Not since they had to extinguish the graduation that one year."

Jade kissed her adorkable girlfriend, and moved to join the family in congratulating Trina on making it out of Hollywood arts.

:}

Well, thats it. They have their Hawaiian vacation to look forward to, then summer, then school in the fall. I'll leave it to you to decide how things go from here. Just, they've made a lot of progress, and I think things will work out fine.

Please feel free to let me know how you felt about the end. Also, what'd ya think about Andre, I mean Andrew, or how they met, or anything about that. Or Jade's stabilized family life. Anything at all catch your attention? How about the graduation, one of the most produced shows of the year, since every student wants to go out with a show. Just, let me know.

Review.

Also, is it wrong for me to laugh at my own work? I thought the whole thing with Tori asking her father about Andrew was kinda funny.


End file.
